Harum-scarum SLR
Mercedes' new McLaren-built supercar is diabolically powerful

CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Turning the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren's ignition key is like twisting the devil's tail. The silver car, with its predatory beaked nose, remains almost menacingly unresponsive, but then, from under a slotted metal grille atop the gearshift lever, a ruby-red eye suddenly blinks to life.

It requires only slight pressure to raise this cover, and just a jab of the thumb to summon up the on-duty contingent of what becomes a horde of 626 horsepower demons when the revs hit 6,500 rpm.

Your pact arranged, you now have under your right foot virtually unanswerable power over just about anything you are likely to encounter on four wheels.

Fanciful perhaps, but the reality is there's no way to overstate the performance of this new entry to the supercar ranks, a diabolically powerful and quick machine conceived and brought about by the alliance between Mercedes-Benz and its Formula One racing partner, McLaren Cars.

This $600,000, aluminum and carbon-fibre, supercharged V8-powered machine accelerates so rapidly - zero to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, zero to 200 km/h in 10.6 seconds, zero to 300 km/h in 28.8 seconds - it changes your very conception of time, speed and distance. It carves through traffic like a 1768-kg sport bike.

The original SLR coupe was an all-Mercedes design, part of the firm's triumphant return to motorsport in the 1950s, and a winner in the classic races of the day in the hands of legends like Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling.

The SLR McLaren, despite its heritage and parentage, isn't a racing car, however, but a limited production Grand Touring car. It is also a way to transfer some of that wildly expensive F1 technology to Mercedes-Benz production cars. The car is only the second crack at a street machine for McLaren, which built 100 McLaren F1s between 1994 and '98.

Only 3,500 SLRs are planned. They'll be built in England at the rate of 500 annually, with the first deliveries coming in the New Year. Mercedes-Benz Canada says a number have been ordered here. Sign a sales contract today and you'll get your car in about three years.

Mercedes says SLR purchasers will include enthusiasts who demand the ultimate in road performance and modern amenities, well-heeled collectors and a smaller group who seek their thrills on the track. If any of these lucky owners prang their cars or have any problems or concerns, they'll have 24/7 telephone access to a 'personal liaison manager' for as long as they own the car.

The SLR, as noted, is the progeny of very different parents, and its character reveals a gene mix that, while smoothed in the Mercedes-Benz/McLaren team blender, still has some lumpy bits.

The SLR's monocoque (main body structure) and most body panels are constructed of carbon-fibre. Two huge, forged aluminum longerons attach to the front of the tub to cradle the engine in its front-mid-ship location, and are tied together by a carbon-fibre front structure that includes two carbon-fibre crush tubes that disintegrate (very expensively) to absorb crash energy.

Suspension is by classic double-wishbones with coil-over-shock absorbers - no fancy electronic controls here, just pure race technology. Electronics come into play in the stability control, traction control and braking systems.

The 5439 cc V8 is the first all-new design created by M-B's AMG division. It's a supercharged and intercooled, 3-valve design that is rated at 626 hp at 6,500 rpm and produces a prodigious 575 lb-ft of torque, most of which is available from about 1,500 revs. This gets to the rear wheels through a 5-speed automatic transmission that can be shifted manually. Oddly, they didn't opt for an electro-hydraulic paddle-shift F1-style gearbox.

The styling, from that pointy F1 nose to the muscular rear section, is wind tunnel tuned and the aero-package includes a flat floor with six-diffuser rear section, plus an automatically deploying decklid spoiler. The latter also pops up to serve as an air brake, a feature first tried by Mercedes on their Le Mans 300 SLR. One of the new SLR McLaren's most dramatic features is the 'swing-wing' doors, reminiscent of the old SLR's gull-wing arrangement, but now hinged on the front A-pillars rather than on the central roof section.

You climb into the SLR over wide sills, and slip into snug, ultra-lightweight, power adjustable, carbon-fibre seats (in three sizes). The lightweight doors pull close, with a bit of a tug, to enclose you in a snug cabin trimmed in aluminum and red leather. All the usual amenities are here, including automatic climate control, a stereo and navigation system and front, head, thorax and knee airbags. The trunk holds a useful 272 litres.

The SLR is billed as a Grand Touring car, but at normal traffic speeds the ride is uncompromisingly hard, to the point of discomfort, and it is far from quiet at any speed. The brakes require too much initial effort before they bite, and then do so aggressively, making them hard to use smoothly. The exhaust note is rather rude and, with the windows down, emits an unpleasant "blaaaaht," reminiscent of a Camaro running glasspacks.

But all these minor annoyances disappear or rather, become inconsequential, when you begin to drive the car hard. It just begins to come into its own at about 160 km/h.

Just tell the officer you were trying to get comfortable. He'll understand.

Immediate competition:

Ferrari Enzo,
Lamborghini Murcielago,
Porsche 911 GT2