Mercedes McLaren SLR gets the chop

After launching the SLR 722 edition early this year, Mercedes tries to look for more buyers for its SLR supercar by launching the new chopped-top version, the SLR Roadster. Featuring a carbon fibre and aluminium body and powered by the same AMG V8 Kompressor engine as the coupe, the roadster has the potential to reach a staggering 332 km/h top speed. All this with a fully retractable top for its drivers to enjoy 'undiluted open air' motoring, as in Mercedes' press release.


The roof opens and closes semi-automatically in less than ten seconds, thereby combining the desire for convenience with the puristic character of the roadster. To open, the roof merely needs to be unlocked from the windscreen frame and be briefly raised, after which it folds away electrically. Since an aluminium cover is integrated into its front section, the roof elegantly closes off the top when re-tracted.


The new Mercedes-Benz SLR Roadster, like the coupé, is to be produced at McLaren's Formula 1 factory in Woking, England, in accordance with stringent Mercedes-Benz quality criteria and will be available as from September 2007.

Takeaway: A roadster supercar is the ultimate in extravagance and totally irrelevant, but Mercedes McLaren needs it for the volume.