Mercedes SLR McLaren

Six-hundred-and-twenty-six horsepower is to Mercedes-Benz what the amp that "goes to 11" is to Spinal Tap. The German maker has so many cars that go to nineSix-hundred-and-twenty-six horsepower is to Mercedes-Benz what the amp that "goes to 11" is carbon fiber, and curb weight is 3733 pounds. The SLR is the closest thing to a Formula One McLaren Mercedes MP4 you can buy. Or, as Mercedes or 10, you almost have to wonder about the reason for the SLR (Sport, Light, Racing) McLaren.AMG's 5.4-liter supercharged SL55 V-8 as well as the SL600 twin-turbo V-12 are rated at 493 horsepower, with the SL55 making 516 pound-feet and the V-12, 590. And the upcoming SL65 AMG's 6.5-liter twin-turbo V-12 ups horsepower to shave a half-ton-plus off those heavy-metal Benzes with a high-tech carbon-fiber body. Ninety-five percent of the body structure is says, the SLR "easily keeps pace with a roadgoing race car," while carrying a couple of golf bags in its trunk.hat dual nature is confusing. The car's styling is, to use a euphemism, controversial. Its long dash-to-axle distance, low two-seat cabin, short rear deck, and F1-inspired nose trades good looks for functional style. Other details, like the scissors-style doors (a practical reference to the legendary 300SLR Uhlenhaut coupe's gullwings), single-piece carbon-fiber bucket-seat shell, and pop-up rear-deck612. The SLR, assembled only in left-hand-drive versions by McLaren in Woking, England, retunes the SL55 supercharged V-8 to 626 horsepower and 575 pound-feet.Is that extra thrust worth three times the price of the SL55, which only takes another 0.6 second or so to reach 60 mph? That's too rational a question for this car. The point (besides to link itself with McLaren, a decade after archrival BMW did) is to spoiler/airbrake, suggest something that might require an F1 pilot's license to drive smoothly--until you get behind the wheel, flip up a cover on the gearshift knob to press the starter button, and shift it into drive. A five-speed electronically controlled automatic, with TouchShift, is the only transmission available.

Price: $418,500
Main dimensions (L x W x H): (4.648 x 1.905 x 1.260 m)
Curb Weight: 3732 lbs
Layout: Front-Engine/RWD
Transmission: 5-Speed Automatic
Type: V8
Displacement: 5439 cc
Horsepower: 671 bhp @ 6500 rpm
Torque: 575 lb-ft @ 3250 rpm
Redline: 7500 rpm
0-60 mph: 3.8 sec
0-100 mph: 8.6 sec
Top Speed: 207 mph
Miles Per Gallon: 13/18 mpg