I thought the original Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR was a nice enough car but its looks just didn’t do it for me. That was until I saw one live – the car looks way better live than in pictures. In an effort to inject more life into the slow-selling supercar, Mercedes has done away with the top and created the Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR Roadster. I have to admit, it is a mighty fine package.
The new Roadster features a carbon fiber roof. In fact, every body panel, except for two, is made from the exotic material. The loads of carbon haven’t done much to lower the weight of the car – it’s still super heavy. The engine is the standard SLR’s 617 HP unit instead of the 722’s 650HP motor.
The Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR Roadster is the first convertible Mercedes in recent memory where the top is not fully automatic. The occupants will have to manually unlatch the roof, push upwards, and then let the motor take over. What’s up with that? The most expensive car in Mercedes’ lineup and I have to manually unlatch the roof? Forget it. There’s no way I’m paying £350,000 for that.
