2005 Mercedes-Benz SLR Mclaren Coupe

Two legendary automotive powerhouses came together in 2003 to create the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren supercar. The result of Mercedes-Benz and McLaren's collaboration was a 617 horsepower, 206 mile-per-hour grand touring car that combined technology, performance and luxury in a modern and sleek package.

SLR, which stands for Sport Leicht Rennsport (Sport Light Racing), pays homage to the 300SLR racing cars from the 1950s that competed in the Mille Miglia and the Targa Florio. In similar fashion, the modern SLR was given a long hood, sweeping roofline, and side exit exhausts. In the front, it had rounded headlights and prominent three-pointed star. The dihedral doors are a part of McLaren's DNA, as they had been used on the McLaren F1. The front nose section is inspired by the nosecone of a Formula 1 car.

The SLR McLaren was manufactured at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The body was formed from carbon fiber and carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). The all-aluminum 5439cc V8 engine was hand-built by AMG and fitted with a twin-screw Lysholm-type supercharger which provided 16 psi of boost to the M115 powerplant. Mated to the engine was an AMG Speedshift R 5-speed transmission providing power to the rear wheels. The braking system was a brake-by-wire 'Sensotronic' carbon ceramic disc setup, which offer improved fade resistance over steel discs.

This particular example was built on August 11th of 2004 and purchased new on Christmas Eve in 2004 from Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills. It is finished in Crystal Laurite Silver over Semi-Aniline Black leather seats and had an original sticker price of $450,000. With the addition of delivery and the gas guzzler tax, the final cost was $455,750.

The car spent three months in California before being registered by its next owner in Chicago in March of 2005 with only 70 miles on the odometer. In June of 2006, it was in the care of a Pennsylvania owner and has remained in PA since that time. Currently, it has less than 10,000 miles on the odometer.

In 2004, just 45 examples of the SLR were produced.

By Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2015