Car and Driver - First Drive: 2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster

Merc1

A half-million bucks will also buy you 21 Miatas. But the effect wouldn't be the same.

From the perspective of Chris Davies, this car makes no sense. Davies is the Brit who’s pushing a European Parliament initiative to limit the top speed of all cars in Europe to just over 100 mph. Since the Mercedes SLR McLaren roadster can do about twice that, it has to be near the top of the list of “boy toys” that Davies wants to ban.

There’s something to his position, but not for the socioenvironmental reasons Davies cites. Traveling at speeds of more than 100 mph in any top-down automobile gets to be uncomfortable, and that applies to the SLR more than most, thanks to the basso bark of its side pipes, relentlessly reminding occupants of every combustion event in the 5.4-liter SOHC 24-valve V-8 engine. With supercharging and intercooling, these are eye-widening events, and they produce eyeball-flattening results: 617 horsepower at 6500 rpm, a prodigious 575 pound-feet of torque, 0 to 60 mph in a little under four seconds, the quarter-mile in a little over 11 seconds at about 125 mph.

The roadster may hit these marks a smidge slower than the hardtop, due to its slightly greater mass. Mercedes reports that the roadster weighs about 100 more pounds than the 3858-pound coupe. But that won’t matter to the deep-pocketed few. The roadster is about style and exclusivity, high speeds or low.

In fact, Klaus Nesser, head of exclusive products for Mercedes, expects droptop-SLR buyers to be more inclined to cruising than racing. An open car provides more opportunity to be seen and envied. Just drop the automatic top, which takes about 10 seconds.

Nesser says the convertible conversion was easy: “All we had to do was remove the roof.” Herr Nesser was joking, but only a little. The roadster’s body uses a stronger carbon-fiber weave than the coupe (triaxial weave versus biaxial), and there are hefty steel beams in the A-pillars. But beyond that, the body shell needed no reinforcement. If there’s any compromise in chassis rigidity, it’s subliminal.

Chassis rigidity is the cornerstone of agility, and the roadster’s credentials on this score are hard to fault. Grip is abundant, responses are mongoose quick, and the carbon ceramic brakes are equal to the power, which is both vast and seductive.

Nesser says the convertible conversion was easy: “All we had to do was remove the roof.” Herr Nesser was joking, but only a little. The roadster’s body uses a stronger carbon-fiber weave than the coupe (triaxial weave versus biaxial), and there are hefty steel beams in the A-pillars. But beyond that, the body shell needed no reinforcement. If there’s any compromise in chassis rigidity, it’s subliminal.

Chassis rigidity is the cornerstone of agility, and the roadster’s credentials on this score are hard to fault. Grip is abundant, responses are mongoose quick, and the carbon ceramic brakes are equal to the power, which is both vast and seductive.

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door roadster

ESTIMATED BASE PRICE: $500,000

ENGINE TYPE: supercharged and intercooled SOHC 24-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection
Displacement: 332 cu in, 5439cc
Power (SAE net): 617 bhp @ 6500 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 575 lb-ft @ 3250 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 5-speed automatic with manumatic shifting

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 106.3 in Length: 183.3 in Width: 75.1 in Height: 50.4 in
Curb weight: 3950 lb

PERFORMANCE (MFR’S EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 3.8 sec
Top speed (redline limited): 207 mph

PROJECTED FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA city driving: 12 mpg
EPA highway driving: 17 mpg

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