This review is not meant for ’’Purchase decisions’’. This is for introducing the technological marvel, a benchmark of the industry to the fellow MSians here.

Be it worth half-a-million dollar car, it is surely worth hearing about.

Mercedes-Benz thinks that the world is ready for many half-a-million dollar cars, and thus throwing their Tyrolean hats into the rarefied ring occupied by the muscular $281,00 Lamborghini Murcielago, the luscious $449,000 Porsche Carrera GT and the incredible $643,000 Ferrari Enzo. You may be pleased to know that the 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is a relative bargain at $441,000, offering a better value and, depending on your priorities, a smarter buy over those other high-dollar sports cars.
But, if you have $500000 to spend on a car, several thousands of dollars are not going to matter much, are they? You’re going to buy what you like. What might sway your decision are numbers; hard, fast, high ones to support bragging rights, and the 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren has them aplenty.

So, some numbers at first...

Engine :: 5,439-cc 36-valve 90° V8

Power :: 617 HP (454KW)

Torque :: 780 NM

Acceleration :: 0 to 100 Kmh in 3.8 Seconds. (Claimed)

Top speed :: 207 Mph (333 Km/h) (Claimed)

Price :: $ 441000 = Rs. 2 Crores (without customs export taxes etc.)

Electronic Driving Aids ::: (REVISION OF 26 LETTERS YOU LEARNT AT 3 YEARS OF AGE)

ABS :: Anti-lock Braking System. These prevent skidding when braking hard from high speeds and thus helps maintaining steering control.

TCS :: Traction Control System. When 626 Horses pull a 1700kgs, you cant expect proper traction. TCS is a must there.

ESP :: Electronic Stability Program. Helps in Stabilizing the vehicle during zig-zag turns.

ACB :: Its for Body roll control. Forgot to ask the full form. But this prevents the roll of the body during



Specs. time :::

1. Engine & Transmission ::: The engine is built by Mercedes F1 Partner McLaren. The car is also of AMG standard. AMG is the standard of Mercedes which applies to high performance cars. Other cars like SL55, CL55, SL65 have the ’’AMG’’ tag.

But what do they stand for and what are they doing affixed to various Mercedes-Benz vehicles? The first two letters stand for the names of the founders: Hans-Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher, and the last letter signifies where the company was born: Grossaspach, Germany, back in 1967. What Mr. A and Mr. M did was modify Mercedes-Benz automobiles for better performance, be it for road use or racing, in which they were heavily involved. As the years went on, AMG became known as a premier tuner of Mercedes-Benz automobiles, and eventually offered interior and exterior modifications, such as custom instruments, steering wheels and seats as well as ground effects, spoilers and wheels. The company did such a great job that Mercedes-Benz brought it in-house in 1990, and as a result AMG now has its own high-performance skunk works, similar to rival BMW’s ’’M’’ division. There is now an AMG version of nearly every Benz model, from the C-Class’ C55 to the CL-Class’ CL65, and they all feature powerful engines, agile suspensions and subtle accents inside and out to set them apart from their more common brethren.

Each engine is hand made by a single engineer and his signature remains on the engine.

The engine is capable of pushing the 1700kg monster to a speed to 100km/h in just 3.8 seconds.

Again when we look into the gearbox, we see that this car is meant for the millionares...A five speed automatic one which impressively delivers the power to the rear wheels.

2. Interiors and Comfort ::: Though this car is meant for ultra fast drving and racing, it does not compromise on comfort. The seats have the plush leather upholstery. A Bose Audio system (standard in all cars from Mercedes stables). Thousands of creature comfort make it the perfect luxury sport coupe.

3. Handling ::: AMG mastered product says it all. Steady grip with TCS and thousands of other ABCDs do make the difference felt. The big 14-inch brakes bring the beast from 100km/h to complete stop in 35 meters. The rear spoliers bend of 60 degrees to asist braking when at speeds above 100. Though I think an all-wheel drive would have been better. Explained in ’’Driving experience’’

4. Safety ::: Its fast and you need safety. Thus, attending to your well being are a slew of safety nannies, including a tire pressure monitor, stability control, six airbags and even a BabySmart feature(though I was not applicable for that feature !!). Furthermore, the SLR McLaren is composed almost exclusively of carbon fiber composite, which serves well the aeronautics industry with its incredible strength and ultra-light mass - it’s weight is claimed to be half that of steel but it’s possessed with the ability to absorb four or five times more energy than traditional automotive body materials. This means that during a collision the metal would absord the force of the impact and thus keep you safe.

DRIVING EXPERIENCE I got my hands on this at a German autobahn privately owned by the Mercedes people. So traffic was not the problem. An experienced Mercedes test driver was with me, explaining every bit of detail whether I wanted or I did’nt !!

On the straight road, the engine showed what its meant for --- SPEED

A dash to 60 MPH (100Kmh) was in less than 5 seconds. It was well before I cud glance at the watch to subtract the start and finish time that it was at 60. At 180 I decided to loose the throttle coz it was more than what i cud take. It was the speedo that bothered me. Otherwise, inside the cabin with the windows up, everything was quiet and normal. It was as if Bill Gates giving his kid ten dollars. and the car was asking me ’’What more can I do for you ???’’

’’Turn’’ I answered. At a whopping 75 the car turns to the right (it was a right hand drive car) :: Correction :: Left hand drive. Pointed out by Ashred. My geography teacher is quiet shocked to see me confused on ’’Sun rising from West. So Left and right hand are nothing for me to change ;) ’’. I was being thrown to the left but the seats are made for these turns so finally I wasnt thrown out. In my corolla, I feel that the car leans to the other side of the turn (due to centrifugal forces you see i did lean some physics !!). But the electronic aids showed me their worth.

Then a few ’’S’’ turns. Showing the cars beautiful handling. The car handled well. But, the wheels had a slight tendency to spin out (just a little bit) at the beginning of the every turn but the car stabled down in microseconds. This was (as i believe) due to lack of all wheel drive. All the weight is on the rear wheels. thus the car get pushed, it never gets pulled.

This happened with the ESP and all the safety features on. The driver later on showed me what a disaster could happen when these were switched off. The car kept on spinning around. (the front wheels being the center the cars rear wheels spinned around it). its a really a heart attack. but the driver knew how to control and he did !!! (thus allowing me write a review).

This my second ride of a supercar after Porsche Cayenne Correction again. I had written Carrera GT confused with Ca again !!

Purchase Price (INR):	$ 453000
Dealer Name and City:	No Comment
Model Year:	No Comment