The new visually unique SLR Stirling Moss

Mercedes Benz and McLaren today released details of the US$1,000,000 SLR Stirling Moss, a limited edition supersports car that almost instantaneously goes down as a landmark in sports car design. The 650 bhp open top supercharged V8 is essentially a modern reinterpretation of the SLR 500 of the fifties, the car which dominated racing in the hands of Moss and Fangio. Available in June 2009, the puristic high-performance sports car might look spartan, but the technology, including the airbrake system, is all bleeding edge. Only seventy five units will be built, ensuring the EUR 750,000 price tag represents a solid investment.

In a poll by U.K. magazine Classic and Performance Car, the Mercedes-Benz SLR 300 was nominated as one of the best racing cars of all time by no less than Bobby Rahal. When asked to nominate a car, Rahal said: “… the 196 Mercedes, technically, was so far ahead of anything else in the ‘50s that you might have to say, that would be it … compared to what it was racing against, the 196 Mercedes was pretty much the dominant car for several years. Moss and Fangio drove them and won everything in sight.”

The heritage is first class but it is the styling that makes the SLR Moss the crowning glory to the SLR super sports car model family – it is an uncompromisingly spectacular car and will offer another level again of open top excitement in that there is almost no windscreen to separate the driver and passenger from the outside world.

From the Mercedes McLaren press release:

With 478 kW/650 hp the SLR Stirling Moss accelerates its V8 supercharged engine from standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than 3.5 seconds, and has a top speed of 350 km/h (217 mph) – no other series-production car is at the same time so open and so fast. This extreme concept makes the new high-performance sports car a legitimate bearer of the name of the British motor racing legend and Mille Miglia record-holder Stirling Moss, who drove the legendary Mercedes-Benz SLR racing cars from victory to victory during the 1950s. The exclusive SLR Stirling Moss rounds off the current SLR family and is limited to 75 units. It is priced at 750,000 euros. The SLR Roadster will cease to be manufactured at the end of May 2009 as planned, and production of the SLR Stirling Moss will commence in June 2009.

Three letters are all it takes to make car fans’ hearts beat faster: SLR. In the 1950s the Mercedes-Benz SLR 300 celebrated victory after victory. It won the Mille Miglia and the Targa Florio as well as the Tourist Trophy. It was driven by the stars of the time: Juan Manual Fangio and Karl Kling – and, first and foremost, by the British racing driver Stirling Moss. At 10 hours, 7 minutes and 48 seconds he still holds the Mille Miglia record. This is why the modern-day version of the legendary SLR carries the additional words “Stirling Moss” in its name. The new SLR Stirling Moss unites the character of the current SLR models with the fascination of the SLR of 1955. The core values of both the historical and the present-day SLR models include an exciting new design, innovative technology, high-class materials displaying perfect craftsmanship, and, above all: a unique driving experience for all the senses.

Whilst the 300 SLR earned its spurs on racing circuits the world over, the new member of the SLR family is not designed for the racetrack. Although it sets new standards in terms of technology, performance and excitement – just like its forebears – it is aimed at individuals who have exquisite requirements and nurture very special dreams.

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