Mercedes/Mclaren road car collaboration draws to a close
Glorious SLR program produced mixed results
Photography from Roy Spencer and Mercedes-Benz
Early Promise
I distinctly remember the excitement I felt sitting amongst the bidders at the Christies Monterey auction in August 2004. My friends at Smythe Mercedes-Benz had decided to place their first allocated, but not yet constructed, 2005 SLR in the auction to take advantage of the rising wave of specialist media hype.
First glimpse on the West Coast: Pebble Beach August 15, 2004. The new SLR was a breathtaking sight in the flesh.
Buoyed by news of Beverly Hills Mercedes’ $1m SLR auction-style sale with none other than Jay Leno as the auctioneer, the Smythe brass had seven figures in mind as well. Against the backdrop of the life-size press image that would eventually grace every 14 year old car nut’s bedroom wall, the plea for bids was greeted with a deafening silence. With all the previous lots having received vigorous bidding, this silence was stunning.
722 Edition offered 650hp and improved grip as well as subtle but effective cosmetic improvements. This SLR will likely begin to appreciate first.
After what seemed an eternity in the auction world, a bidding paddle rose from the crowd; $475k and just above the car’s MSRP. And there the bid stood for another eternity when, as the gavel began its decent to hammer the car sold, another paddle appeared, raising the ante to $520k. And that was it, not a paltry sum but well below expectations.
Handsome Roadster offered mind bending speed as well as stylish boulevard cruising.
I suppose “well below expectations” would encapsulate the brawny SLR’s legacy in the minds of anyone who was charged with selling them, from corporate sales managers to dealer personel. While early 2005 model year sales showed some stability and a few SLRs sold substantially over their original MSRP of about $450k, demand for this 617 hp, swing-wing Silver Arrow soon waned.
722S upgraded standard Roadster power and handling dynamics. This will also have some appreciation strength in coming years.
The glorious SLR era ends this month with the last example of its latest iteration, the over-the-top Stirling Moss Edition speedster, due for completion before year’s end.
Highly revised and bringing the SLR series full circle to a no compromise finale, the Stirling Moss Edition will be most at home on the track. This car's purity echos that of the 1955 Mille Miglia winning 300SLR with now "Sir" Stirling Moss at the wheel.
The Legacy
Was the SLR a failure? Absolutely not. While the initial edict to McLaren was muddled, demanding towering supercar performance integrated within a daily usable, automatic transmission equipped, luggage toting platform, the SLR range must be respected as the pinnacle of the front-engine ultra high performance genre. While some elements of the car’s styling were contrived, if you park one on the street next to a same color Ferrari 575 Maranello – a period sales competitor – and observe which car passersby dwell on, the success of the dramatic SLR design will be evident.
SLR.CLUB competition 722 GTs were all business and constructed by Ray Mallock Ltd. The SLR.CLUB track events were exclusive affairs with enormous support from the factory for their wealthy owners.
There were some bright spots along the way: The revised 650hp “722″ edition was met with immediate demand and will quite likely be the edition to retain the highest percentage of its initial value and the first SLR to appreciate. However, if we were to point a finger at the core reason for the general weakness in demand for the SLR, it would have to be a far too optimistic production schedule, given the car’s fundamental layout.
At times disappointing from a sales standpoint, the SLR family represents an extraordinary collaboration between Mercedes-Benz, AMG and McLaren. Each offers devastating performance, brutal good looks and an opportunity to own what will surely be a significant piece of Mercedes history.
The planned production schedule of 3,500 units over 7 years was just not logical. Had only 400 or so units been constructed – about the number of Ferrari Enzos constructed (399) from 2002 through 2004 – we would have seen stronger support and perhaps experience used SLRs trading today at or above their original selling prices. The other side of this discussion is that a used SLR is perhaps one of the best values on the used supercar market today.
Clinical SLR assembly line at McLaren International in Woking, England will soon come to a halt. Here we see four 722s on their way to completion some years ago.
Future Values
I would not count the SLR out as a future appreciating milestone automobile. We must remember that original Gullwing values fell to roughly 40% of their original selling price within six years of ceasing production, to about $3,500 in 1963. The last 47 years have been kind to the Gullwing: I sold a superb 1955 example last week for $525k.
The SLR will yet have its day, perhaps when all those teenagers who admired the car on their bedroom wall attain a level of success that allows them to acquire their dream car.
McLaren supremo, Ron Dennis poses with a 722. His successful partnership with Mercedes-Benz in Formula One did not guarantee harmony during the SLR project.
We present below some additional interesting SLR images.
At the very beginning; working in scale toward a final design.
Pebble Beach August 1999: A running and driving design exercise - the SLR Vision - based on the then current R129 series SL. It was a chilly morning at Pebble that year!
A very stylish SLR Vision roadster concept still based on R129 chassis SL. The final SLR design is emerging.
The Middle East absorbed a significant percentage of SLR production. Here a 722 rests with some local inhabitants.
The SLR was a media darling and its presence at major auto shows worldwide always created serious excitement. The SLR as a "halo" product probably generated free publicity value in excess of any profits realized during its production. This is a 722 being emerging from the mist to the applause of an adoring Auto Show crowd.
Most Mercedes/AMG/McLaren products do not improve in tuner's hands and the SLR was no exception. Many tried but no tuner succeeded in improving on the original concept. This effort from ASMA Design is particularly rude.
Mansoury further chopped up the already busy SLR design with less than successful results.
Renovatio must have had the farm on their mind with this bovine themed effort. It's a shame to see the desecration of a perfectly good SLR.
Roy Spencer, editor MercedesHeritage.com
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One Response to “Mercedes McLaren SLR era comes to an end”
there’s nothing like a SLR in the entire world , period…………….
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