have driven one of the coupe's a few years back, but wasnt my car so didnt really push anything. was recently at the merc dealer dealing with my wife's car, and saw several sitting there, coupe's and roadsters. they look great - very striking. so started talking to one of the mechanics, one of the salemen, and a guy dropping his boss' car off for service, asking them about how they liked the car etc. all of them panned it. said it was actually a dangerous car. handling terrible for the big power available. just awful. i was surprised. what do you guys know?
Ross, I got to drive one and felt it was a really on/off car. It was really stiff which was good, but there wasn't a lot of feel in the drive so it is very easy to overpower it while driving and get a bit scary. I enjoyed it but the lack of feel and immense power make it one of those always be carful cars. In addition when all the technowizardry came on it would intervene unpredictably.
I am going to revive a very old thread here. I have now had my SLR for about 8 months and 3000 miles and can honestly say it is the best car I have ever had including my Carrera GT. I am sure many [most] will disagree and that's fine with me as we all have different aspects of an automobile that we cherish. I find the SLR extremely attractive and distinctive with an amazing presence even amongst other exotics. Park one next to a 458 and see what I mean. Mercedes will NEVER (allow) a car to be built like this. Remember, McLaren built the car in England. Also let me correct those who said its track manners were not good. I have raced both in pro and amateur sports car events and can tell you that this car will lay a lap down that would embarrass many a supposed fast sports car and do it effortlessly lap after lap even though it was NOT designed to do this. This car was developed in conjunction with McLaren F1 during the golden years of the West McLaren Mercedes team with Hakkinen, Coulthard and Raikkonen. PS...The Renntech upgrade brings the horsepower to a more competitive 750 and is quite a simple process.
I have a 722 that i use as a daily summer driver and the criticism the car gets is nonsense . The brakes are just fine, the performance is spectacular and the road presence is second to none. It is very stiff and not very comfortable, any drive for more than an hour will kill your buttocks and lower back. The handling on track is very good, but it is not a track car and is not planted the way a Lambo is as the steering requires constant work and is not super precise. You basically point it to where you want to go and getting there requires constant steering input. Service is very expensive, especially B service where the plugs have to come out and that is every 36000km. Overall, one of the best cars i have owned, will never sell it. Picture on track below. Image Unavailable, Please Login
+1. Again, car criticized by folks who "read about it on internet", sat in it (therefore had first hand experience) or drove one around the block to detail shop at the dealership where they work.
I just bought one of two (so I am told) Saks (as in Saks Fifth Avenue) 2008 Holiday Edition SLR Roadsters and heartily agree that the car has immense presence. Two years ago, I looked at a Ferrari 575 Superamerica that was parked adjacent to an SLR Roadster and couldn't take my eyes off the SLR. The Superamerica just about faded into the background, and it was no shrinking violet in its vibrant Rubino Mecalizzato. I can't comment on the SLR's track manners, as I don't have the expertise of ARTNNYC. I can say that the SLR is quick almost beyond description. Throttle response seems almost instantaneous, and the power just keeps pouring on. Question for ARTNNYC: what RENNtech mods did you have done to your SLR? I've owned two RENNtech extreme makeovers, a 1997 RENNtech E60RS and 1999 ML60RS, for many years, and had some RENNtech upgrades done on a 2004 Mercedes SL600. I have not been happy with customer support from RENNtech for some time and hesitate to continue any involvement with them. Also, their website no longer shows anything for the SLR class. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I have owned a slr coupe for about 3 months now and is by far the best sports car I've owned, I've had a handful of ferrari's also. I really think these cars are hugely undervalued.
Very pretty car. I've only ever seen one on the road and I'll never forget it. It was a really young guy driving with a skateboard in the back window
I always felt that the SLR 722 was how it meant to look/be from day 1. It just looks so much more complete.
The SLR upgrades are indeed still on Renntech's website as I just had a look. I had the R1 upgrade done which is a simple pulley, intercooler pump and ECU upgrade. It cost about 12k and brings the HP to 722 and the torque to 715 lb/ft. The R2 upgrade adds a performance header/exhaust system to bring HP to 750 but does cost 25k. I did not feel the additional cost or noise from the exhaust justified the minor HP increase over the R1 package
The first B service, I was quoted 21k CDN. I took a look at the to do list and eliminated a whole bunch of stuff that was not needed, so we settled at around 14k. I believe now it can be done for less than 10k.
And Mecum sold an 06 in May for $170k with 12800 miles... I wonder why over twice the price for Monterey...
Sports Car Market Magazine savaged the SLR in its February 2016 issue (pp. 74-75). To quote: "I'm going to tell you bluntly, Mercedes-Benz electronics from this era are fragile, nearly impossible to repair (believe me, I am being optimistic) and will not be reissued like parts for the W113 or W107 SLs. The SLR...will swarm with calamities once the various modules fail and its CAN wiring begins to biodegrade. Once the wiring dies off, you have a yard ornament." "Yard ornament"? OUCH! I have owned Mercedes dating back to 1991 through 2004, and all of them have had electrical problems, including wiring harness failure. Since I also have a 2008 SLR Roadster, I'm wondering how much of it--and especially the electronics and wiring--is Mercedes and how much is McLaren, which perhaps might change the electrical dynamic? In the end it's Mercedes that services and supports parts, though. So far there have not been any electrical issues with my SLR. Fingers crossed! It is a total gas to drive. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
