"Following yesterday's revelation that Mercedes and McLaren were preparing to launch a special lightweight version of their SLR supercar, a batch of spy shots plus a spy video have surfaced, giving us a sneak peek at the limited-edition roadster prior to its anticipated unveiling by McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton towards the end of the month.

The images – which appear to have been released by the manufacturer itself – confirm our previous report that the roofless supercar will have little in the way of protection from the elements, with an F1-sized wind deflector screen as the only thing between the driver and the wind rushing by at breakneck speeds. Inspired by the original '50's-era 300 SLR, the new speedster will be faster than any previous SLR and be built in a small serial of 75 examples."

"Mercedes-Benz and McLaren are teaming up for one more supercar partnership — this time with a special lightweight, roofless version of the monstrous SLR. The very limited edition speedster (we're told to expect 75 examples) seems to offer extreme performance in trade for an extreme lack of practicality, a compromise that we don't envision being a tough sell for M-B. The word is that this speedster will be the last of the SLR lineup for the Mercedes-Benz/McLaren joint effort; no coupe will be offered once this launches. Let's deconstruct what we know of this upcoming beast:

1. With a 200-lb weight savings, the SLR's supercharged V-8 will have much less to tote around. Top speed is expected to be 217.5 mph while 0-186 will be done in 26 seconds. Side note: quoting your car's 0-186 mph time will distinguish you at cocktail parties.

2. The speedster seems to be low enough that one could just step in or out over the side, but Mercedes has nevertheless chosen to retain a set of butterfly doors.

3. Wait, where's the windshield? It will be helmets only for those who wish to keep their teeth clean (and unsmashed by road debris).

4. The set of roll hoops send a deliciously retro-futuristic message. 1950 or 2050? It looks like they're going for both.

5. Although these taillights look completely different from what we'd expect, they're only there to throw us off. When the car launches expect the curvy jewel-box look from the standard SLR."







YouTube - Spy SLR