2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster
Chassis no. WDD1994761M001821

"But take a look at the cabrio's specification and it's clear that the SLR's fundamentals lend themselves to a roofless application better than they did to the coupé. This is a car built for touring –albeit touring at beyond 320km/h, should the need arise. And the SLR's carbon tub offers the chance to lop the roof off and retain good amounts of torsional flexibility." – Autocar.

Their new supercar allows Mercedes-Benz and its Formula 1 partner McLaren to showcase their collective experience in the development, construction and production of high-performance sports cars and, just like its legendary 300SLR predecessor of 1955, incorporates technological developments which are ahead of their time. The heart of any car is its engine, and that of the SLR McLaren is truly outstanding. Produced at Mercedes-Benz's AMG performance division, where each unit is the responsibility of one engineer who carries out the entire assembly process, it is a 5.5-litre, 24-valve, supercharged V8 producing 617bhp, making it one of the most powerful engines to be found in a series-produced road-going sports car. Impressive though this peak horsepower figure is, it is the torque produced by this state-of-the-art 'blown' motor that is its most remarkable feature. As Car & Driver observed: "This lends mind-boggling elasticity to the SLR, with passing performance that has to be felt to be appreciated."

Needless to say, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren delivers performance figures which are among the best in its class, taking just 3.8 seconds to sprint from 0 to 100km/h, it passes the 200km/h mark after 10.6 seconds and from a standing start takes just 28.8 seconds to reach 300km/h. The two-seater has a top speed of 334km/h.

A front-engined layout was chosen for the SLR in the interests of optimum weight distribution, handling dynamics and braking stability. The five-speed automatic transmission, already used in several high-performance Mercedes-Benz models, has been specially optimised for very high torque and also offers the driver the option of choosing between different shift characteristics using the Speedshift system.

Extending the long-term technological collaboration that Mercedes-Benz and McLaren have enjoyed in Formula 1, the SLR's carbon fibre composite monocoque body/chassis structure is produced in the latter's all-new facility in Woking, England. Carbon fibre has been used for decades in the aeronautical industry and in the construction of Formula 1 cars, but is comparatively rare in series-produced road cars because of the expense involved in manufacturing composite structures by hand. Using several patented innovations, Mercedes-Benz and McLaren have been able to bring a measure of automation to the carbon fibre manufacturing process, enabling the material's benefits of low weight, exemplary rigidity and strength, corrosion resistance and significantly higher energy absorption in the event of an impact, to be offered in the SLR.

The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was launched in South Africa and introduced for the 2005 model year priced at $455,000 (approximately €373,000). A roadster variant was unveiled in September 2007. Boasting an ingenious electrically powered folding roof, the open version used the same engine and running gear as the coupé and turned in similar performance figures. A total of 2,157 examples would be built of which only 520 Roadsters before production ceased in 2009.

Delivered new to Japan, this SLR McLaren Roadster was imported into Europe in 2017 and homologated by Mercedes-Benz in Belgium. EU taxes paid, the car comes with a Belgian demande d'immatriculation and its original Japanese books (including the service book stamped on numerous occassions). Currently in the hands of only its second owner, the car is finished in beautiful 'Crystal Digenit Blue', a lovely shade of dark blue. A list of the options on this specific example is available. Only 16,309 kilometres have been covered from new and this gorgeous SLR is presented in commensurately excellent condition.