To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys' The London Auction event, 31 October 2026.

• The first McLaren Automotive-era car modified by McLaren Special Operations (MSO), kick-starting the revered department’s upgrade and customisation programme
• The rarest road-legal special edition of the SLR McLaren; the first of 25 total ‘McLaren Edition’ examples produced by MSO and one of just four Roadsters
• Finished in striking Midas Fire Grey over a McLaren red leather and black Alcantara interior
• Sparingly driven; the odometer showed just 3,178 miles at the time of cataloguing
• Accompanied by its leather folio, manuals, service book, and MSO conversion invoices

In 1995, McLaren joined forced with Mercedes-Benz in Formula 1. The successful partnership yielded back-to-back Drivers’ Championships for Mika Häkkinen in 1998 and 1999, while he and team-mate David Coulthard combined to secure the 1998 Constructors’ title. The alliance remained competitive throughout the 2000s, providing a launchpad for Lewis Hamilton to make his topflight debut in 2007. He chalked his first Drivers’ crown the following season.

To celebrate their F1 success, Mercedes-Benz and McLaren co-developed a road car. After the Vision SLR concept debuted at the 1999 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the well-received prototype eventually transitioned into a full production model, revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2003. Officially designated the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, the supercar was assembled at McLaren’s state-of-the-art facility in Woking.

The SLR McLaren featured a stunning design with a lightweight carbon fibre tub and dihedral doors. Initially offered only as a coupé, a roadster variant joined the lineup in 2007. Performance was breathtaking, courtesy of a 617-horsepower, supercharged 5.4-litre V-8. At McLaren’s insistence the engine was mounted behind the front axle, giving the car a front-mid-engine layout. Power was sent to the rear wheels via a five-speed AMG Speedshift R Automatic gearbox featuring three driving modes: Comfort, Sport, and Manual—the latter utilising steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. The SLR McLaren launched from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds before hitting 207 mph.

Special editions of the SLR McLaren were produced, including 300 examples of the 722 (150 coupés, 150 roadsters), 75 examples of the Stirling Moss, and just 12 SLR HDK coupés converted by McLaren Special Operations (MSO. But the rarest street-legal variant is the ‘McLaren Edition’ by MSO. Only 25 were built, of which just four were Roadsters.
The McLaren Edition offered SLR owners an ultra-exclusive opportunity to send their car back to the factory for a bespoke upgrade package. This conversion included improved aerodynamics and handling, weight reduction, plus custom exterior and interior finishes if desired.

This 2007 McLaren Edition started life as a standard SLR McLaren Roadster finished in Crystal Laurit Silver Metallic over Anthracite. It was ordered for the Great Britian and Northern Ireland market and specified in left-hand drive. In January 2009, the car was sent to MSO to be upgraded to ‘722 S’ style. This included a repaint in Alabaster White, with 722 Edition features installed—namely, the aerodynamic package, tinted lights, 722S wheels with McLaren logo centre caps, and an interior retrim featuring comfort seats and carbon kick plates. Per the invoice on file from MSO, the total cost exceeded £78,000. This SLR was the first of its kind to be modified by MSO, and these initial changes pre-dated the finalised ‘McLaren Edition’ programme that was later offered.

Following a conversation with the original owner and then MSO director Harold Dermot, a decision was made to modify the car further and create what came to be known as the ‘McLaren Edition’. In 2010, the car returned to Woking for further MSO upgrades. The body was painted in its current colour of Midas Fire Grey, featuring revised front and rear bumpers, side panels, a Stirling Moss rear diffuser, and ducktail boot lid. This resulted in a 50-kilogram weight saving and a 20 per cent increase in downforce. The exterior gained carbon fibre mirrors, red-painted brake callipers with the McLaren logo, and front wheel arch vents. A special exhaust system was installed alongside modifications to the suspension. Inside, the seats were retrimmed in red leather and black Alcantara with red stitching and feature the McLaren logo. A carbon fibre steering wheel was fitted, with the final detail being a plaque denoting ‘001’. With the full conversion completed in late 2010, the MSO invoices on file total more than £120,000.

With the project a resounding success, MSO offered this style of customer-oriented modifications to other owners. The firm went on to modify 25 SLRs, four of them being Roadsters. This SLR McLaren Edition has covered just 3,172 miles at time of cataloguing. It is accompanied by a battery tender, manuals with pouch, and stamped service book denoting Mercedes-Benz dealer services from 2008 to 2020. In 2023, a major service was carried out by SPS Automotive Performance in Germany, with the most recent service untaken in June 2026 by Mercedes-Benz of Belfast.

In an era where the rarest configuration is most sought after, this example—McLaren Edition serial number 001—represents the pinnacle of the vaunted SLR McLaren line, and the car which kick-started the MSO programme. As one of just four roadsters upgraded to McLaren Edition specification, it is sure to attract the attention of discerning enthusiasts.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/auctions/lf26/.