The Silver Arrow!

Mercedes - Benz SLR McLaren.

The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is a Anglo-German supercar jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and McLaren Automotive. It is assembled at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. Daimler AG, owner of Mercedes-Benz, also owns 40% of the McLaren Group.

Classified as a supercar and compared to cars like the Porsche Carrera GT and Enzo Ferrari, the presence of the automatic gear box, front mid-engined arrangement and its driving characteristics lead some commentators to classify the SLR McLaren as a Super GT whose closer rivals are the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish and Ferrari 599 GTB. One of the goals of the SLR was to combine both supercar and GT characteristics.

It is the fastest automatic transmission car in the world. SLR stands for "Sport, Leicht, Rennsport" (sport, light, racing). Mercedes-Benz has stated that they will build 3500 SLRs in a span of 7 years, with an annual production of only 500 cars. The car's base price is £300,000,$495,000, or €475.000

History
The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is inspired by the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR of 1955 which was actually based on the W196 F1 car, yet named after the road-going 300SL Gullwing.

Engine
The SLR sports a 232-kilogram (511.8 lb), hand-built, 5.4-litre (5439 cc/331.9 cu in), supercharged, all-aluminum, 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 milimetre (3.82 in) and 92 milimetre (3.62 in), respectively. The Lysholm-type twin-screw supercharger produces 0.9 bar (13 psi) of boost, the turbine rotates at 23000 revolutions per minute, and the air is cooled via two intercoolers. The engine generates a maximum power of 626 PS (617 hp/460 kW) at 6500 revolutions per minute and a maximum torque of 780 newton-metre (575 ft·lbf) at 3250 revolutions per minute.

Performance
Mercedes-Benz's performance claims for the SLR have been confirmed. Depending on the source, the car accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in approximately 3.5 seconds (see below), 0-200 km/h in 10.6 seconds, and 300 km/h in 28.8 seconds, and has a top speed of 334 km/h (208 mph), and has once reached a speed of 210 mph (340 km/h), which makes it the fastest car with a true automatic transmission with a torque converter. The car uses carbon fibre for its entire body construction, which makes it lighter. Curb weight is 1768 kg (3898 lb). The SLR is one of the safest and most luxurious supercars ever built, straying from the common supercar practice of eliminating luxuries for the sake of weight reduction.

Car and Driver achieved a 0-60 time of 3.6 seconds, and a quarter-mile time of 11.6 seconds at 125 mph (201 km/h). C&D suggests the times may be even lower if temperatures were higher. Car and Driver achieved top gear acceleration 30-50 mph and 50-70 mph times of 1.7 and 2.4 seconds, which are the fastest ever recorded by the magazine in a production car. The SLR also pulled 0.97 g on the skidpad.

Road and Track tested the car in their July 2005 Road Test and got 60 mph (100 km/h) from a standstill in 3.5 seconds. The 0-100 mph sprint was achieved in 7.5 seconds and a Quarter Mile run was completed in 11.5 seconds at 126 mph (203 km/h).The German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, in 2004, tested the SLR at the Nardo test track in southern Italy. They reported that the SLR accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, 200 km/h in 10.7 seconds, and 300 km/h in 30.6 seconds. The car's 400-meter time and 1 km time were found to be 11.5 seconds at 207 km/h, and 20.5 seconds at 269 km/h, respectively. They also reached its claimed 334 km/h topspeed.