The guy in the Acura one lane over is having a few control problems. He keeps getting a little closer to my fenders, then jerking away as he attempts to focus his camera phone to snap a few frames of my car.
Such is one of the everyday dangers when you’re loose on the highway in a Mercedes-McLaren SLR.
Wide, low and with a rapier-like nose, the SLR draws stares wherever you go. Stares from those who have never even heard of this British-German supercar. Stares from those who have heard of the SLR but never thought they would be lucky enough to get this close. Stares from people amazed – or terrified -- that they’re just one lane over from a car that costs $450,000 and has a top speed of 208 mph.
If you’re among those who have never heard of the Mercedes-McLaren SLR, here’s the scoop.
Built in a partnership between Mercedes-Benz and McLaren, the British race shop that builds the McLaren-Mercedes Formula One race cars, it was conceived as the ultimate expression of a race car that could also have all the amenities and personality of a car you could drive to the grocery store.
That is if you could ever imagine going to the supermarket at warp speed.
Most of the body is made of carbon fiber, a high-tech, lightweight material that’s common on race cars but has appeared only sparingly until now on road cars.
Under the hood – which stretches 10 feet in front of the driver -- is a 5.4-liter supercharged V8 that makes 617 horsepower and, surprisingly, is coupled to a five-speed automatic transmission.
The four-wheel disc brakes are made of a space-age ceramic material and at high speeds are assisted in bringing the SLR to a quick, controlled stop by an aero brake – a spoiler that rises to a sharp angle on the rear of the car.
Styling is reminiscent of the two-seat Mercedes-Benz SL model, which costs a mere $95,000, but in the SLR the design has been put on steroids. The supercar is wider, longer and lower than its SL cousin.
A key SLR design cue is the batwing operation of the doors. They swing forward and up to allow access to the two-seat cockpit, contributing to the overall spaceship appeal of the SLR’s looks.
The wide entry provided by the batwing doors is necessary to get in and out of this car. There’s a very wide sill that’s a part of the chassis, and it takes some practice to learn to navigate over it with a modicum of grace.
But the exercise immediately becomes worthwhile once you settle into the substantial driver’s seat. (Buyers can do the Goldilocks thing with the SLR and order the seats in small, medium, large and extra-large sizes to find one that fits just right.)
In front of the driver are large instruments made to look like an expensive Swiss watch. Surrounding them are copious amounts of aluminum and carbon fiber. In the center of the dash are the controls for the air-conditioning, manual test switches for the rear spoiler, and the stereo, which comes with a six-disc changer and controls that are way too small.
There’s the usual host of other luxury amenities, including cruise control, power windows, locks and seats, and cruise control.
To fire up the SLR, you flip open the cap on top of the gearshift handle and press the starter button.
The herd of horses in the V8 rumble to life with a bass note that’s made all the more noticeable by the four exhaust pipes that exit at the bottom of the front fender, ahead of the door, on either side of the car.
Put your foot on the brake and pull the lever to Drive position and the SLR glides off with amazing smoothness.
Put your foot down, and the SLR will get to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, pinning you and your fortunate passenger to your seatback. I’m told that 150 mph comes up in about 25 seconds, but I never had enough clear road to test that.
Braking is equally without fuss. Just tap the pedal and it’s like deploying a parachute. Steering, as expected, is scalpel precise, allowing the driver to pretty much maneuver around anything, no matter what the speed. If you get into a turn a bit too fast, the onboard stability control helps eliminate drama.
In everyday driving, the SLR behaves much like any luxury sports car, with the exception that you can pretty much merge or pass at will, given the power at your command.
The five-speed automatic with three shift modes is well-mated to the power of the 617-horsepower V8 and provides more control than all but the most experienced race drivers could extract if there was a manual gearbox on board. For those who want to shift, there are buttons on the steering wheel for upshifts and downshifts. But don’t confuse that with the true clutchless gearbox available in a Ferrari and some other sports cars.
There’s even a trunk that can accommodate a couple of suitcases, comparable to what you would expect in a Mustang or a Honda Accord coupe.
The only time the SLR gives away its race car roots is over rough roads, when there’s some occasional booming resonance from the wheel wells due to the carbon fiber construction.
If you’re thinking of buying one, here are a few things to know:
Since 2004, about 1,000 SLRs have rolled out of the factory in England. All of them are essentially hand-made, and vary only by color, interior décor and wheels. There are five extra-cost options -- $9,900 for special leather; $840 for either gold or red brake calipers; $600 for contrasting color stitching on the upholstery; $600 for a two-tone steering wheel; and $360 for floor mats with leather edging.
You’ll also pay $3,000 in a gas-guzzler tax, since the SLR gets just 13-17 mpg, according to the federal government (anyone with a modicum of a lead foot will be lucky to see 13 mpg in real-world driving). Lastly there’s a $2,750 delivery charge.
So all told, the sticker on one of these gems is going to total $468,050.
But there’s good news. While initially buyers of the SLR were paying as much as $750,000 to be among the first to own one, a check of ebaymotors.com shows that there are some dealers now willing to let them go for something approaching sticker price.
If you’re someone for whom money is no object, the SLR is nothing short of a phenomenal automotive milestone.
For the rest of us who will have to be content to be on the outside looking in – like that guy juggling the camera phone and the steering wheel of his Acura – the SLR is a work of art that is worth more than a lingering gaze.
