When you think of Portsmouth it is quite likely that images of the sea, HMS Victory and possibly a football team that has managed to escape relegation this season all spring to mind. The Mercedes McLaren SLR however, wouldn’t.
But Portsmouth is where the body of Merc’s supercharged lightweight champion was crafted in carbon-fibre at McLaren Composites before being shipped off to the parent company in Woking for final assembly.
The boys from Pompey done good and since they have now built 3500 bodies for the SLR, Mercedes have called time on the car and the carbon-fibre wizards are probably hard at work on the forthcoming P111 project. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, another Pompey lad, would have been proud of them.
In the meantime feast your eyes on the SLR because it is indeed a thing of beauty and its status as a future classic is virtually guaranteed. All the boxes are ticked as far as the performance stats for the Roadster version are concerned. 626 bhp, 0-60 mph in 3.8 seconds and a max speed of 206 mph.
Mercedes claim that you can still have a natter with your mate in the passenger seat at speeds up to 124 mph with the roof down! But then who wants to talk when the glorious sound of the 5.4 litre supercharged V8 is wailing in the background.
Top Gear likened the noise to that of a Messerschmitt ME-109 fighter plane. Awesome. Carbon-ceramic brakes and trick-spoilers creating downforce help bring the beast to a halt in seconds. The brakes even self-dry in the wet! This is indeed a clever car.
It is also another rarity that will not appear too often in the classified ads but we know of two, that’s right two, black new unregistered Roadsters that have come up for sale. Please give us a call on ++44 1474 854490 for more details or click here and we will contact you.
The Car Spy 
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