Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren

The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is an Anglo-German grand tourer car jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and McLaren Automotive, built in Portsmouth and the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England and sold from 2003 to 2009. When it was developed, Mercedes-Benz owned 40 percent of the McLaren Group. Due to the automatic gear box, front mid-engined arrangement, and its driving characteristics, some commentators classify the SLR McLaren as a GT, whose rivals would be vehicles such as the Aston Martin DBS V12 and Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano.

SLR stands for "Sport, Leicht, Rennsport" (sport, light, racing). Mercedes-Benz stated that they would build 3,500 SLRs over seven years, with an annual production of 500 cars.The car's base price, GB £295,337 (approx. US$450,000, €350,000, CHF 500,000 or C$ 500,000. 2009), made it the ninth most expensive street-legal car in the year 2008.

The SLR sports a 232 kg (510 lb) hand-built 5,439 cc (5.439 L; 331.9 cu in), supercharged, all-aluminium, SOHC V8 engine. The cylinders are angled at 90 degrees with three valves per cylinder and lubricated via a dry sump system. The compression ratio is 8.8:1 and the bore and stroke is 97 millimetre (3.82 in) and 92 millimeters (3.62 in), respectively. The Lysholm-type twin-screw supercharger rotates at 23000 revolutions per minute and produces 0.9 bar (13 psi) of boost. The compressed air is then cooled via two intercoolers. The engine generates a maximum power of 626 PS (460 kW; 617 hp)@6500rpm and maximum torque of 780 N·m (580 lb·ft)@3250-5000rpm.

Unlike most of its contemporaries, its engine is front-mid mounted. McLaren took the original concept car designed by Mercedes and moved the engine 1 metre (39.4 in) behind the front bumper, and around 50 centimetres (19.7 in) behind the front axle. They also optimized the design of the center firewall.