New 2008 Mercedes SLR McLaren Roadster
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Build Your New 2008 Mercedes SLR McLaren Roadster

What do Paris Hilton and Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso have in common? Both have owned a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. Actually, Hilton handed hers back after a couple of "incidents." This joint patronage of the Mercedes flagship strikes at the paradox at the heart of the 2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster. For all Mercedes-Benz's talk of F1-derived technology, McLaren know-how and outrageous performance, the SLR has always been a different type of supercar than the Ferrari Enzo or Porsche Carrera GT. With its automatic transmission and all-around civility, the SLR has been perceived as a car for poseurs, not pole-sitters. The new SLR Roadster invites further comparison to celebrity jewelry, but there's talk of subtle improvements beneath the new canvas convertible top. An uprated carbon-fiber monocoque promises open-air speed without the dreaded shakes, and different dampers are meant to improve the car's occasionally wayward handling. Could it be that in its latest (and perhaps final) iteration, the 2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster finally delivers a drive worthy of the McLaren badge?

Always a Vision of Top-Down Speed
The idea for an SLR Roadster is nothing new. When Mercedes first revealed the Vision SLR concept in 1999, it showed both a coupe and a roadster. The coupe appeared as a production car in 2003, the track-ready 722 model followed last year, and now the SLR Roadster goes on sale this fall. "We wanted to do the coupe first because we wanted to draw a clear association with the world of GT racecars," says Klaus Nesser, the man in charge of the SLR and Maybach vehicle programs. Like the coupe, the Roadster remains true to the original concept. This is a source of pride, but also a clue to the car's early problems. The McLaren engineers freely admit that the show car's aerodynamics were awful. In order to create a car capable of 200 mph, they had to engineer a flat underbody culminating in a dramatic rear air diffuser and then add an active rear wing. Even then, the rear end of the car felt disturbingly light at very high speed. For many SLR owners, such imperfections have been a small price to pay for a shape that is pure theater. The SLR has a sense of occasion that no modern Ferrari other than the Enzo can match. The SLR Roadster enhances the glamour with its sleek, roofless shape, as the electrically powered fabric top stows neatly behind the front seats, leaving intact the car's trademark scissor doors.

Once More With Feeling
The cabin is shared with the coupe, which is a mixed blessing. There's some nice detailing ? the instruments look terrific and Mercedes must use supermodel cows for the leather ? but too many of the plastics feel low-rent. The SLR flap that hides the stereo is naff and the CD-based satellite navigation system feels like a 1990s throwback. After all, you expect more for a half million dollars. Cabin space is also tight. The carbon-fiber seats can be specified in several different sizes, but even if you find one to fit your derriere, anyone taller than 6 feet will want for legroom. At least your luggage will be well catered to. Even with the convertible top folded down, there's a useful 7.1 cubic feet of trunk space ? enough for a weekend away.

It's Got the Power
The protocol for starting the SLR's engine is straight out of a James Bond movie. You flick open the cover on top of the shift lever. Prod the starter button beneath and it glows red as 5.5 liters of supercharged V8 spring to life. Developed by AMG, this is one of the world's great engines. A huge volume of air ? more than 2 tons per hour, Mercedes tells us ? is sucked through the three-pointed star on the front grille, compressed by the belt-driven supercharger and stuffed into the V8. The supercharger is mounted on an aluminum brace because the heat it produces would decompose a carbon-fiber piece. The V8's output figures are otherworldly. The 617 horsepower at 6,500 rpm makes headlines, but let's not forget the 575 pound-feet of torque available from between 3,250 rpm and 5,000 rpm that really determines this car's character. This real-world power is what distinguishes the SLR from supercars such as the Ferrari 599 (448 lb-ft) and Lamborghini LP640 (486 lb-ft). The mighty torque is also why the SLR works so well with an automatic transmission. Shared with the Maybach, this automatic requires just five widely spaced ratios to take this car from zero to 206 mph ? a top speed just 1 mph less than that of the SLR coupe. The transmission has Sport and Comfort modes, and the shift paddles on the steering wheel do the work.

Power and Style
In some ways, the SLR is a throwback to a bygone age. The rich, melodic sound from the quartet of side pipes recalls an old Can-Am racecar. You find yourself playing the throttle like a musical instrument, thrilled as the engine revs melodically rise and fall. Of course, the SLR Roadster is brutally quick. Mercedes claims 0-62 mph (100 kph) in 3.8 seconds and 124 mph (200 kph) in just 10.9 seconds, and you can achieve them just by extending your right boot and hanging on. On an unrestricted but busy autobahn, we briefly saw 186 mph, and the Roadster accelerated above 100 mph much like a Porsche 911 does between 50 and 100. With the top down, the Roadster is also remarkably civilized. A tiny screen between the seats helps minimize the buffeting and the cockpit is not uncomfortable, even at three-figure speeds. To compensate for the structural rigidity lost with the roof, Mercedes added another layer of carbon (it's now tri-axial) to the tub. The result is a car with almost no scuttle shake, even on bumpy surfaces.

Driving the Blitzen Benz
Yet for a true driving enthusiast, the SLR is still something of a disappointment. There is nothing wrong with the stopping power of the brake system's ceramic discs, but there's little pedal feel, and it seems as if you are pushing against an artificially weighted brake booster. As a result, it's difficult to modulate braking effort ? a key concern in a car this fast. There's plenty of mechanical chatter through the steering, but it tells you little about what the front wheels are up to. It is also too reactive. Instead of making single, measured inputs, you find yourself instinctively making lots of little corrections throughout a turn. We've driven almost 3,000 miles in various SLRs, and the steering still undermines our confidence. Since the SLR's introduction in 2003, Mercedes has replaced the original Bilstein dampers with Koni units in a bid to improve the car's high-speed stability, and there is an improvement. But although the SLR has a surprisingly cosseting ride for such a sharply focused performance car, the balance between comfort and command still isn't right, perhaps because 200-mph capability compromises feel and sensitivity.

Poseurs, Not Pole-Sitters?
It's no secret that the relationship between McLaren and Mercedes was strained during the development of the SLR. McLaren's desire for ultimate performance didn't prove perfectly compatible with Mercedes' insistence on civility, safety and practicality. Significantly, no member of the McLaren team was present at the introduction of the 2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR Roadster. For a car that's likely to cost $500,000, the SLR Roadster is too compromised. A Porsche 911 Carrera is a more satisfying drive, and a Ferrari 599 is in a different league. But we suspect that for the 1,100 or so people who've already bought an SLR, the subtleties of steering and braking feel don't matter a jot. For drivers like these, the Roadster will simply enhance the SLR's appeal as one of the most spectacular, theatrical cars of this or any other generation. Mercedes-Benz offers a very nice roadster of its own, the SL, this year celebrating its 50th anniversary. Ranging in price from $96,000 to $188,000, the top-performing SL65 AMG model comes with a supercharged V12 engine. Mercedes also has a deep-rooted technical partnership with McLaren Technologies, which races in Formula One with Mercedes-Benz engines, and from that relationship have already sprung the Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR coupe and the higher-performance SLR 722 version of the coupe. The market has told the two companies that it's now time for the ultimate Mercedes-Benz roadster, just in time to commemorate that 50th anniversary. In round numbers, the price of this amazing roadster is going to be $495,000, with destination and delivery charges of $2750. Mercedes-Benz doesn't have a rear-mid-engine supercar in its model lineup as Ferrari and Lamborghini and Porsche do, so it has chosen to create, with lots of technical help and finally assembly by McLaren, in England, a sort of long-nose, short-deck front-mid-engine supercar. The engines are built in Germany by Mercedes-Benz's in-house high-performance shop, AMG, and shipped to England for installation in these very special bodies. The roadster bodies are completely new, not cut-down versions of the SLR coupe bodies. They are made entirely of three-layer carbon fiber at McLaren's race shop. Carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, or CFRP, is about five times stronger than steel in crush (or crash) situations, at about half the weight. (It's also a lot more expensive.) The one-piece body is then fitted with a huge V-shaped aluminum beam structure on each side that attaches to the front of the firewall to carry the engine, transmission, front suspension and steering. The carbon fiber fenders and hood complete the body. In front of all that, there is an elaborately constructed carbon fiber crash bar that can handle huge amounts of impact, after which its disposable cones crumble into dust as the impact progresses. At the rear, there is an all-aluminum independent suspension system that looks like it was ripped directly out of a racing car. No other car in the world is built quite like this one, and it is as beautiful underneath as it is brutish on the outside. The only major panels shared with the coupe are the scissor doors. The 626-horsepower 5.5-liter supercharged V8 engine nestles under the long, long hood, breathing directly through the Mercedes-Benz star in the nose of the car, and exhausting through a compact, front-mounted exhaust system that exits through the bottom edges of the front fenders. This does three things. It works very well for emissions, keeping the catalytic converters hot. It helps the engine breathe better at higher rpm. It eliminates a lot of pipes and mufflers under the car, which has a flat bottom for aerodynamic purity. Oh, and four, it puts the sound of that V8 engine very close to the cockpit, where it can be appreciated. Read on to our Driving Impressions to see what we thought of all this.tizanidine ultram order ambien meridia online vicodin online order soma lortab finasteride triamcinolone propecia online allopurinol order tramadol ultram online generic sildenafil orlistat glucophage zovirax lunesta generic lipitor fexofenadine

Model Lineup
The 2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR comes in two coupe versions, already on the market, and one roadster version. The roadster comes in one very complete trim level, as you would expect for just under half a million dollars. There are a few options on the list, including 19-inch wheels in a turbine design; brake calipers painted in gold or red ($850); black carbon-fiber inserts in the interior panels ($1550); special Silver Arrow leather in 13 colors, with embossed SLR logos ($9,950); contrasting upholstery seams in 300 SL red, orion grey or black ($610); a two-tone steering wheel matching the second interior color ($610); floor mats with leather piping in the second interior color ($370); and provision for a mobile telephone with a universal interface. And that's about it. The standard navigation system is different from all other Mercedes-Benz systems, compact, but useful. Part of the ordering process for any SLR is a fitting trip to Woking, England, where the cars are built, to select your paint (13 colors) and interior color, add your options, and be fitted for one of the four different bucket seat widths that are offered, from narrow to extra-wide. You also get a complete tour of the Mercedes-McLaren Formula One race shop and the rest of the $300 million McLaren Technologies facility, an ultramodern building with its own lake, built by one of the world's greatest architects, Norman Foster.

Walkaround
Just one look will tell anyone nearby that the SLR Roadster is something very special, a legitimate 200-mph car. From that long, pointy nose and front spoiler to the side exhaust pipes, the functional hood vents and fender vents and the scissor doors, there are very few front-engine cars that carry with them this kind of visual impact, and two of those are the aforementioned SLR coupes. The main differentiator is the tight-fitting, tightly designed convertible top. Once the latch is released and the button pushed, a second push of the button will automatically stow and hide the top in a mere 10 seconds. Putting the top up is even easier than that. When the top is down, the decibels from the front fender-mounted exhaust pipes go way, way up, but that's part of the car's charm and part of what you're paying for in an exoticar like this one. The rear bodywork behind the convertible top well contains an automatic air brake that functions like the ones used on Mercedes-Benz race cars of the 1950s, raising automatically to help slow the car and keep the rear end stable under hard braking. The rear underbody of the roadster has a built-in undertray to control airflow and add high-speed stability as well.

Interior Features
The SLR's inclusive list of standard equipment includes semi-aniline leather-upholstery mounted to a pair of carbon-fiber bucket seats that can be adapted to the driver and front passenger by means of different sized seat pads; dual-zone automatic air-conditioning; a Bose premium sound system; a multifunction sport steering wheel with gear-shift paddles, and a navigation system with an integral AM/FM radio and CD-changer built into it. Don't look for a lot of fancy polished wood or chrome inside the SLR, because there isn't any. This is a very sporty interior, mostly black, with brushed finishes on most of the metallic pieces that don't flare back into your eyes in bright sunlight with the top down. Our silver test car had a black interior with a sort of terra cotta red accent trim, and it was all put together perfectly, with the accent on delivering necessary data to the driver as quickly and clearly as possible through two central instrument pods up high on the dash panel.

Driving Impressions
Wow! would be a good place to start, followed by mind-bending and heart-pounding. Although Mercedes-Benz quotes a 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) time of only 3.8 seconds, or about three heartbeats, it feels even quicker than that, and it will just keep going, up and up, faster and faster, until you reach a top speed of about 200 mph, depending on headwinds. Power delivery is very smooth and very linear, more like a turbine or a jet than a piston engine. It's aided in its mission by a five-speed automatic transmission with three shift modes, Comfort, Sport and Manual, with Manual using either the floor shifter or steering-wheel-mounted paddles for manual shifting. Within the Manual mode, there are three further choices for upshift and downshift speeds, Sport, Supersport and Race. The way the engine and transmission mass have been centered and lowered in the chassis gives the SLR roadster a built-in willingness to turn left or right very quickly through the quick-ratio power steering system. The race-quality double-arm front and rear suspension systems combine with the extremely stiff body and chassis to give the SLR beautiful pinpoint steering and handling in open-road situations. The electrohydraulic anti-lock braking system on this car is phenomenal. The 14.6-inch front and 14.2-inch rear discs are made of carbon fiber ceramic like racing brakes, and the system uses eight-piston calipers at the front and four-piston calipers at the rear. These brakes are powerful enough to generate 2000 horsepower of braking force, or 1.3g of braking deceleration, and the brakes are reported to last up to 180,000 miles before needing replacement. The brake pedal is very sensitive at first, but once you get used to using them, the brakes become an important tool in overall driving enjoyment. They work in concert with the air brake built into the body, which rises up at a 65-degree angle to increase braking at the rear and keep the car stable, and the brakes also have a hill-holder feature and a traffic-crawling feature that lets the driver use the accelerator pedal only in thick traffic to keep the car trudging along at speeds up to 36 mph. You can even have your brake calipers painted in a choice of silver, red or gold to match or contrast with the body paint. In thick traffic and city driving, though, you have to be careful, because the long nose of the car is way, way out there in front of you, and you simply can't see it, so we'd recommend rear-first parking, because the rear end is easier to see.

Summary
If you have half a million dollars not committed elsewhere, and you want a whole lot of car that says a whole lot about you and the level of performance you demand in life, in business, and in automotive transportation, the Mercedes-Benz SLR roadster make a grand entrance like very few other cars in automotive history. Yet it's not moody or persnickety or uncomfortable for long, meandering drives through the countryside. But this car is also very much about pulling up to country clubs, movie premieres, sporting events, restaurants and night clubs with the top down and the panache oozing from every molecule. Great car, all around.