Last hurrah for SLR: $1m Stirling Moss
As exotic as the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is, it never quite attracted the attention and respect befitting a half-million dollar supercar, the limited-edition 722 included.
Add another half-million worth of plastic surgery and now we're talking. Named for the British driver who brought Mercedes-Benz its most storied victories of the 1950s, the SLR Stirling Moss mimics the famous 1955 300 SLR roadster. While the race car was made of magnesium alloy, the Stirling Moss edition is entirely carbon fiber, which should give McLaren designer Gordon Murray some grief from the standard SLR's hefty weight.
With 650 horsepower, Mercedes estimates zero to 62 miles per hour in under 3.5 seconds and a 217-mile-per-hour top speed. Only 75 will be built next year, and all will go to current SLR customers (that means Paris Hilton's on the list).
Conjuring up 1950s racing nostalgia, however, brings back horrific memories for Mercedes. In 1955, a 300 SLR roadster killed about 80 spectators after slamming into a barrier at Le Mans. It was - and likely still is - the deadliest crash in motor racing.
Watch the historic news reel in the full entry here.
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about boston overdrive
Boston.com reports the latest trends, auto shows and wrings out the newest cars in our city's hellish maze - and across the great roads of New England.In the garage: 2008 MBTA Zone 1A monthly pass, 1995 21-speed Iron Horse. Bill Griffith is an automotive correspondent for The Boston Globe and has reviewed cars for 10 years. He was also the Globe's assistant sports editor for 25 years and the paper's sports media columnist.
In the garage (over the years): 1956 T-Bird, 1959 Nash Metropolitan, 1980 El Camino, 1997 supercharged Camry TRD.
