Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster

[HeilSvenska]

Mercedes has officially confirmed it will build a convertible version of the McLaren SLR, according to a published report. Zero to 60 mph will take under four seconds, and a top speed of 200 mph will still be possible.

The SLR roadster will arrive this summer, with a possible debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March, according to The Car Connection.

The new model will closely resemble the Mercedes-Benz Vision SLR concept (pictured), which debuted at the 1999 Frankfurt Motor Show, nine months after the coupe prototype was unveiled at the Detroit auto show.
-leftlanenews

[ae86_16v]

^ Something to help sell the car. I am sure it will sell really well in parts of the Country, for example Lost Angeles ;) .

Wonder if it will be hardtop?

[so_innocent]

Wonder how will the chassis and body structure be made. When SLR first came out, they said it's not possible to make a convertible version due to the body and chassis being made as one big carbon fiber structure, so the roof gives the car lots of its strength. Now they have to chop the roof, so wonder how that will be accomplished, without making the car's torsional rigidity greatly reduced.

Either way, this convertible is made mostly because SLR didn't sell very well

[Firdosh7747]

its gonna look like a chix car

[HeilSvenska]

Now they have to chop the roof, so wonder how that will be accomplished, without making the car's torsional rigidity greatly reduced.

Simple. Make it heavier. (extra bracing and so forth...)


Either way, this convertible is made mostly because SLR didn't sell very well

I don't think SLR had a sales problem? They wouldn't make more of it if it didn't sell.

[Stoopie]

Cool car, but I'd take the hardtop :)

[acmarttin]

The doors still go up the same way, right? That is important.

[RC45]

I don't think SLR had a sales problem? They wouldn't make more of it if it didn't sell.

The SLR has a terrible sales record.

Last years models sold so badly, the year ended with a $100,000 rebate to try clear the unsold cars out.

[stmoritzer]

^I agree with RC

from what I heard the sales figures weren't that good, but it's hard to get some numbers :wink:
the 722 model is probabely easy to sell, the Convertible is a perfect ParisHilton-Florida-Cruiser :mrgreen:

[silentm]

a gay feature for a stupid looking car ... :?

[TopGearNL]

I really was rather hoping they weren't going to do this..

I expect this to be the next ''rappers car'' starring in all the rap vids etc etc :roll:

[HeilSvenska]

I expect this to be the next ''rappers car'' starring in all the rap vids etc etc


Not even DB9s or F430s are safe from that fate. Any car over $100K is vulnerable.

[Z3uS]

I was starting to strange that they still hadn't done anything like this.

[SPEEDKILLAR]

Too bad, pretty stupid of Mercedes actually to not have left more McLaren and less MB.

[sentra_dude]

I made a bad pic of it:

http://i15.tinypic.com/2cpao20.jpg

[Zot09]

I expect this to be the next ''rappers car'' starring in all the rap vids etc etc


Not even DB9s or F430s are safe from that fate. Any car over $100K is vulnerable.

Too bad, the SLR is already a rappers car...I was watching MTV yesterday, and Diddy is using a SLR in his new video... :roll:

Justin Timberlake has a CGT in his video...

[TopGearNL]

/\/\ I always hate that :x

[blue8]

Spyshots from Car and Driver:
http://www.caranddriver.com/assets/image/2007/Q2/040920071030255484.jpghttp://www.caranddriver.com/assets/image/2007/Q2/040920071030265396.jpghttp://www.caranddriver.com/assets/image/2007/Q2/040920071030264624.jpghttp://www.caranddriver.com/assets/image/2007/Q2/040920071030263391.jpg

In 1999, Mercedes-Benz teased us with not one, but two mouth-watering “Vision SLR” supercar concepts. One had a roof, the other was a convertible. The Vision SLR coupe eventually became the stupidly fast and stratospherically priced SLR McLaren coupe, which Mercedes-Benz builds with racing partner McLaren Cars. Now, a full four years into its product cycle, Mercedes-Benz and McLaren are finally giving their SLR coupe a droptop playmate, to be called the SLR McLaren Roadster.

Spied in the Canary Islands on a photo shoot, this prototype of the top-secret roadster will spawn one of only a handful of droptops ever to break the 200-mph barrier, and perhaps the fastest open-topped automobile ever sold in this country by a major manufacturer when it appears on our shores next year as a 2009 model.

Clear from these not-so-clear photos is that the SLR Roadster appears pretty much identical to the current SLR McLaren coupe in terms its long-nose proportions and front and rear styling. Also a given are a carbon fiber monocoque chassis and carbon fiber body panels, just like the hardtop. A fabric top, as opposed to a folding hard top, will be fitted in the interest of cost savings.

Less clear, however, is whether the scissor-fly doors from the coupe will appear on the roadster. Certainly, conventional front-hinged doors would be somewhat of a disappointment after the cool butterfly doors on the coupe. Don’t get us wrong, however, they would hardly prompt any one of us to kick it out of our garage.

Expect little or no diminution of performance from the 617-hp, 575 lb-ft supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 that powers the SLR hardtop, which can accelerate to 60 mph in just 3.6 seconds and touch a claimed 207 mph when given enough asphalt. We would be surprised, however, if the roadster is offered in the intensified 641-hp “722” guise like the coupe. It would be fitting, however, considering that the original #722, a 1955 Mercedes-Benz SLR racer that Stirling Moss drove to victory in the Mille Miglia three consecutive years, was actually a roadster.

Pricing will likely be about 10-percent higher than the $455,750 SLR coupe, so don’t expect much change back from your half-mill bill.

[TopGearNL]

As said, probably will see it in the rapper videos soon :roll:

[stmoritzer]

probabely to be presented in Frankfurt

[stmoritzer]

^
one model after the other, first the coupe, then the "722" and now the Cabrio, a lot of "premieres"
and I agree with you about the CLKDTMAMGMBXYZCabrio

the SLR Convertible is a must, PHilton and Co. will order them right away :mrgreen:

[ae86_16v]

Looks like it is Official now:

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/04/officially-official-mercedes-benz-reveals-slr-mclaren-roadster/

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/3571/slrroadster07gi0.th.jpg (http://img100.imageshack.us/my.php?image=slrroadster07gi0.jpg)http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/5096/slrroadster11dd4.th.jpg (http://img100.imageshack.us/my.php?image=slrroadster11dd4.jpg)http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/7199/slrroadster08tl3.th.jpg (http://img100.imageshack.us/my.php?image=slrroadster08tl3.jpg)

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/9671/slrroadster12da5.th.jpg (http://img152.imageshack.us/my.php?image=slrroadster12da5.jpg)http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/4740/slrroadster02wb9.th.jpg (http://img100.imageshack.us/my.php?image=slrroadster02wb9.jpg)http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/1756/slrroadster13ti2.th.jpg (http://img152.imageshack.us/my.php?image=slrroadster13ti2.jpg)

[ferrarif1fan89]

i prefer it as a soft top, looks classier, and it should lower the center of gravity.

[yg60m]

The new toy to have for Monaco :wink: But I like it, especially the blue car :)

[blue8]

Looks awesome! I'm glad they retained the gullwing doors :twisted:
High-res pics
http://www.netcarshow.com/mercedes-benz/2008-slr_mclaren_roadster/

[Shinigami]

I'm always excited to see a new convertible because I'm a big fan of them.

Looks quite nice IMO, I always liked the nose on the SLR and the fact that they kept the doors is cool.

It's a shame it's not a hardtop like the SL/SLK. Having driven my SLK(s) in hard rain, thunder, snow and the like versus MX5's, S2000's and Z4's, I have to say a hardtop does give that extra little something in the name of comfort that makes a car more GT then Sports car, but that's fine with me since MB is a marque which caters more for the tourer/chilled out driver then the otherwise more sporty soft top roadsters from other marques.

Still, I wouldn't mind having one :D

[chest3r]

I think it looks very good :o

If it would have an hard top convertible it would probably needed to be longer and would be even heavier

[HeilSvenska]

Looks good indeed, but I'll want to shoot one if they make a 722 version of it.

And is it going to be available in any color other than silver and blue? I doubt it for some reason.

[Shinigami]

I think it looks very good :o

If it would have an hard top convertible it would probably needed to be longer and would be even heavier
The SLK is not very long, it fits the roof just fine, and the profile in some parts is a little similar *shrug*

But who knows why they decided to go with cloth...

[HeilSvenska]

I think it looks very good :o

If it would have an hard top convertible it would probably needed to be longer and would be even heavier
The SLK is not very long, it fits the roof just fine, and the profile in some parts is a little similar *shrug*

But who knows why they decided to go with cloth...
Time, money, laziness...

[racingfreak]

I'll take the 722 any day...

[TopGearNL]

I want a 722 Roadster :twisted:

[Sir_GT]

That just looks brilliant.

Short of a Veyron, this is the ultimate billionaire's toy.

[franck bullitt]

i really like the roadster evolution :!: :D 8)

[McLaren4eVa]

I actually really like the look of this, i though it was going to look like the concept roadster shown way back before launch, but it actually looks pretty decent.

[Bernardo]

vid..

http://blog.worldcarfans.com/index.cfm/8070508.004/mercedes-slr-mclaren-roadster-video

btw mclaren4eva...what car is this on your sig?

[blue8]

^ I'm not McLaren4eVa (obviously) but to answer your question, that is not a real car. It's photoshopped. The original image is a 599 GTB and there's some Murcielago and F430 parts added as well

[blue8]

UPDATE: More SLR Roadster pics looking cool 8)
http://www.netcarshow.com/mercedes-benz/2008-slr_mclaren_roadster/

[ya55erm]

looks a lot better then the coupe in my opinion, suprised that they didnt make a effort with the problems that the coupe had such as high speed stability, brakes and steering feel but still a better package

[Kaz]

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/9553/slr5gs6.th.jpg (http://img528.imageshack.us/my.php?image=slr5gs6.jpg)http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/318/slrlowox8.th.jpg (http://img502.imageshack.us/my.php?image=slrlowox8.jpg)http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/9897/slr10et9.th.jpg (http://img153.imageshack.us/my.php?image=slr10et9.jpg)http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/1812/slr6si9.th.jpg (http://img520.imageshack.us/my.php?image=slr6si9.jpg)http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/7885/slrintpq2.th.jpg (http://img153.imageshack.us/my.php?image=slrintpq2.jpg)