Mercedes has confirmed that McLaren will build a special-edition ‘722 S’ version of the SLR roadster.
Deliveries will start in January, and only 150 versions will be built. Prices haven’t been confirmed, but it’s a fair bet that the 722 S will be sold at a substantial price premium to the standard £346,500 SLR Roadster.
Mercedes is also known to be working on a hardcore, ultra-low volume SLR Speedster as it prepares to bring its relationship with McLaren to a close.
Mercedes and McLaren are set to become road-car rivals as each launches the next generation of their ultra-fast offerings – we’ve already seen the gullwing-doored Mercedes SLC, and McLaren is known to be working on a new supercar.
The 722 S roadster gets reworked suspension compared to the basic SLR, with unique springs and dampers that lower ride height by 10mm. Power is provided by the SLR’s familiar supercharged 5.4-litre V8 in the same state of tune as the earlier 722 Coupe.
That means 650bhp and 605lb ft torque, with the roadster being good for a 3.7 second 0-62mph time and a claimed top speed of 208mph.
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Re: Merc SLR 722 S Roadster
I find it quite amusing that Mercedes seem incapable of admitting that the project was ill judged in the first place and cutting their losses on this particular dead horse. McLaren are so clearly squirming with embarassment but unable to say much. A bad business all round really and a waste of talent and resource.
The only person I ever heard of buying one was the rather flashy former boxer Prince Naseem, who then very publicaly wrote it off. Sums it all up really.
Re: Merc SLR 722 S Roadster
A car that was the product of two organisations pulling in different directions. May be they have succeeded in making it the car they should have done in the first place..... but I doubt it.
Re: Merc SLR 722 S Roadster
Old hats and dead horses spring to mind...