Mclaren Mercedes SLR

The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is an Anglo-German sports car jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and McLaren Automotive, built in Portsmouth and the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. Daimler AG, owner of Mercedes-Benz, also owns 40% of the McLaren Group.

Due to the presence of the automatic gear box, front mid-engined arrangement and its driving characteristics lead some commentators to classify the SLR McLaren as a GT whose rivals can be considered to be e.g. the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish and Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano.[1]

SLR stands for "Sport, Leicht, Rennsport" (sport, light, racing). Mercedes-Benz has stated that they will build 3500 SLRs in a span of 7 years, with an annual production of only 500 cars.[2] The car's base price is GB£300,000 (approx. US$495,000 or €475,000, c. 2007).[3]The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is inspired by the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR of 1955, based on the W196 F1 car, yet named after the road-going 300SL Gullwing. On 4 April 2008, Mercedes announced they will cease production of the SLR. The last of the coupes rolled off the production line at the end of 2007 and the roadster version is due to be discontinued in early 2009.The brake discs are carbon-ceramic and provide better stopping power and fade resistance than steel discs when operating under ideal working temperature. Mercedes-Benz claims these discs are fade resistant to 1,200 °C (2,200 °F). The front discs are internally vented and 370 mm (14.6 in) in diameter. 8 piston calipers are used. Rear discs are 360 mm (14.2 in) in diameter with 4 piston calipers. During wet conditions the calipers automatically skim the surface of the discs to keep them dry.To improve braking performance there is an automatic air brake, when engaged the rear elevation angle of the rear spoiler is set to 65 degrees. The additional rear downforce in addition to the markedly increased aerodynamic drag increases peak deceleration ~90%.
The SLR features active aerodynamics; there is a spoiler mounted on the rear integral air brake flap. The spoiler increases downforce depending on its angle of elevation (angle of attack). At speeds above 95 km/h (59 mph) the spoiler/brake automatically raises to 10 degrees (15 in 722 edition), when demanded via the driver's switch, the elevation can be increased to 30 degrees (35 in 722 version) for increased rear downforce, at the cost of increased steady state drag. It costs a pricey £35,000!

The SLR sports a 232 kg (511 lb) hand-built 5.4-litre (5,439 cc (332 cu in)), supercharged, all-aluminium, SOHC V8 engine. The cylinders are angled at 90 degrees with three valves per cylinder and lubricated via a dry sump system. The compression ratio is 8.8:1 and the bore and stroke is 97 millimetre (3.82 in) and 92 millimeters (3.62 in), respectively. The Lysholm-type twin-screw supercharger produces 0.9 bar (13 psi) of boost, the turbine rotates at 23000 revolutions per minute, and the air is cooled via two intercoolers. The engine generates a maximum power of 460 kW (617 hp) at 6500 revolutions per minute and a maximum torque of 780 N·m (575 lb·ft) at 3250 revolutions per minute.[4]

Unlike most of its contemporaries, its engine is front-mid mounted. McLaren took the original concept car designed by Mercedes and moved the engine 1 metre (39.4 in) behind the front bumper, and around 50 centimetres (19.7 in) behind the front axle. They also optimized the design of the center firewall.

The car uses carbon fibre for its entire body construction in an attempt to keep the weight low. Despite CFRP materials the total curb weight is 1,768 kg (3,898 lb). The following tests have proven that the SLR can achieve a 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in times less than the claimed 3.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 334 km/h (208 mph)[5].

Car and Driver achieved a 0-60 mph (100 km/h) time of 3.6 seconds, and a quarter-mile time of 11.6 seconds at 125 mph (201 km/h) C&D suggests the times may be even lower if temperatures were lower. Motor Trend tested the SLR and achieved a 0-60mph time of 3.1 seconds in April 2006. Car and Driver achieved top gear acceleration 30-50 mph and 50-70 mph times of 1.7 and 2.4 seconds, which are the fastest ever recorded by the magazine in a production car. The SLR also pulled 0.97 g on the skidpad.January 2005

Road and Track tested the car in their July 2005 Road Test and reached 60 mph (97 km/h) from a standstill in 3.5 seconds. The 0 - 100 mph (160 km/h) sprint was achieved in 7.5 seconds and a quarter mile run was completed in 11.5 seconds at 126 mph (203 km/h).

In June 2004 the SLR was tested at Nardo and performed the 0-100 km/h (62 mph) exercise in 3.8 seconds, 0-200 km/h (124 mph) in 11.5 seconds and 0-300 km/h (186 mph) in 30.4 seconds.[citation needed] Their 400 metre and kilometre times were 11.5 seconds at 122 mph (196 km/h) and 20.6 seconds at 278 km/h (173 mph) respectively. They also reached its claimed topspeed 334 km/h (208 mph).

Despite its near 2-ton weight, the fuel economy is generally better than the lighter Lamborghini Murciélago, and even its lighter, less expensive, less powerful sibling, Gallardo.[6] Still, on the Episode 1 from Season 11 of BBC car show Top Gear the Lamborghini Murciélago performed better than the SLR during a race on the track. Also, the same show put the SLR and the Porsche Carrera GT on its track, and after multiple attempts, the Porsche beat the SLR-McLaren by just over a second (1:19.8 vs. 1:20.9[7]). However, on a separate race around their short track, the SLR was fractionally quicker than the Carrera GT. In a straight line, the SLR is quicker throughout the range.