CD01 SLR LAYOUT 2/9/05 5:45 PM Page 4

MERCEDES-BENZ SLR McLAREN

Vehicle type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2door coupe

Price as tested: $455,500
Price and option breakdown: base Mercedes-Benz SLR
McLaren (includes $2500 freight and $3000 gas-guzzler tax),
$455,500
Major standard accessories: power windows, seats, and locks;
remote locking; A/C; cruise control; tilting and telescoping steering
wheel

where between all-out supercar and civilized grand tourer. This within a swoopy
carbon-fiber monocoque chassis that has
an unequal-length control-arm suspension
at all corners, gullwing doors, an active
rear airbrake/spoiler, side-pipe exhausts,
and an engine that expresses power with
every revolution. Yet all these sporty flourishes are in combination with an automatic
transmission, various and sundry luxury
trappings, and a substantial 3858-pound
curb weight.
Clearly, this is a vehicle intended for a
flexible role. Luckily for us (and owners
with the means), technology allows car
designers a lot of leeway these days,
enabling less compromise than was possible just a few years ago. A smooth ride
and precise handling are no longer mutually exclusive; nor are creature comforts
and high power. You can indeed have your
cake and eat it, too.
This particular slice of cake has been
very carefully baked. According to Le
Mans winner Klaus Ludwig, one example
of meticulous development is that the
windshield wipers on the SLR work at 200

C/D TEST RESULTS

ACCELERATION
Seconds
Zero to 30 mph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.6
40 mph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2
50 mph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.8
60 mph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6
70 mph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4
80 mph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3
90 mph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.7
100 mph. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.9
110 mph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.3
120 mph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.8
130 mph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.5
Street start, 560 mph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.8
Top-gear acceleration, 3050 mph. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.7
5070 mph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4
Standing 1/4 -mile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.6 sec @ 125 mph
Top speed (redline limited, mfrs claim) . . . . . . . 207 mph
BRAKING
700 mph @ impending lockup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 ft
HANDLING
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.97 g
Understeer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . minimal moderate excessive
FUEL ECONOMY
EPA city driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 mpg
EPA highway driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 mpg
INTERIOR SOUND LEVEL
Idle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 dBA
Full-throttle acceleration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 dBA
70-mph cruising. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 dBA
106

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mph. Just what one might be doing at 200

mph in the rain is anyones guess, but its
nice to know that this limited-production
GT has had all its systems thoroughly
checked out. At a price that verges on halfa-million bucksand an output of just
3500 SLRs over the next seven yearswe
expect nothing less.

CURRENT BASE PRICE* dollars x 1000

Saleen S7 (7.0-liter, 550 hp, 6-sp man)
Porsche Carrera GT (5.7-liter, 605 hp, 6-sp man)
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren (5.4-liter, 617 hp, 5-sp auto)
Ferrari Enzo (6.0-liter, 605 hp, 6-sp auto man)
0

140

280

420

560

*Base price includes freight, any performance options, and applicable gas-guzzler taxes.
The Saleen S7 we tested in 2003 had 550 hp, but the car now has 575.

700

ACCELERATION seconds 060 mph 1/4-mile

Ferrari Enzo
Porsche Carrera GT
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
Saleen S7
0

12

15

BRAKING 700 mph, feet

Ferrari Enzo
Saleen S7
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
145

150

155

160

165

ROADHOLDING 300-foot skidpad, g

Saleen S7
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
Porsche Carrera GT
NOT AVAILABLE

0.70

0.80

0.90

1.00

1.10

EPA CITY FUEL ECONOMY mpg

Porsche Carrera GT
Saleen S7
Ferrari Enzo
3

DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106.3 in
Track, front/rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64.5/61.8 in
Length/width/height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183.3/75.1/49.6 in
Ground clearance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 in
Drag area, Cd (0.37) x frontal area (22.1 sq ft) . . . . . . . 8.2 sq ft
Curb weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3858 lb
Weight distribution, F/R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.0/49.0%
Curb weight per horsepower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3 lb
Fuel capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.8 gal

INTERIOR
SAE volume, front seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 cu ft
luggage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 cu ft
Front-seat adjustments. . . . . . . . . . fore-and-aft, seatback angle,
front height
Restraint systems, front . . . . . . manual 3-point belts; driver and
passenger front, knee, and side airbags

STEERING
Type . . . . . rack-and-pinion with variable hydraulic power assist
Steering ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.6:1
Turns lock-to-lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3
Turning circle curb-to-curb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.0 ft
BRAKES
Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . electrohydraulic by wire
Front. . . . . . . . . . 14.6 x 1.4-in vented, cross-drilled ceramic disc
Rear . . . . . . . . . . 14.2 x 1.1-in vented, cross-drilled ceramic disc

Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren

DRIVETRAIN
Transmission . . . . . 5-speed automatic with manumatic shifting
Final-drive ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.06:1
Gear
Ratio
Mph/1000 rpm
Max speed in gears
I
3.60
6.9
48 mph (7000 rpm)
II
2.19
11.2
78 mph (7000 rpm)
III
1.41
17.4
132 mph (7000 rpm)
IV
1.00
24.5
171 mph (7000 rpm)
V
0.83
29.5
207 mph (7000 rpm)

SUSPENSION
Front . . . . . . . . . ind, unequal-length control arms, coil springs,
anti-roll bar
Rear . . . . . . . . . . ind, unequal-length control arms, coil springs

Ferrari Enzo

0.60

ENGINE
Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . supercharged and intercooled V-8,
aluminum block and heads
Bore x stroke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.82 x 3.62 in, 97.0 x 92.0mm
Displacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332 cu in, 5439cc
Compression ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.8:1
Fuel-delivery system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . port injection
Supercharger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . twin-screw Lysholm
Maximum boost pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.1 psi
Valve gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . chain-driven single overhead cams,
3 valves per cylinder, hydraulic lifters
Power (SAE net). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617 bhp @ 6500 rpm
Torque (SAE net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575 lb-ft @ 3250 rpm
Redline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7000 rpm

CHASSIS/BODY
Type . . . . . . . unit construction, carbon-fiber-reinforced tub and
front subframe with aluminum rear subframe
Body material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic

Porsche Carrera GT

140

Sound system: Bose Audio-30 AM-FM radio/cassette/CD

changer, 7 speakers

12

15

WHEELS AND TIRES

Wheel size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F: 9.0 x 19 in, R: 11.5 x 19 in
Wheel type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cast aluminum
Tires . . . . . . . . . . Michelin Pilot Sport PS2; F: 245/35ZR-19 96Y,
R: 295/30ZR-19 100Y
Test inflation pressures, F/R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32/35 psi
Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . high-pressure compact
JANUARY 2005