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Road Test

Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren

Test date 31 August 2004  Price as tested £313,565

Immortalised by the late Denis Jenkinson in one of the finest motoring stories ever, as he co-drove for Stirling Moss on the 1955 Mille Miglia, the 300 SLR was a remarkable racing car. Five million people watched it average 97.9mph over the 1000-mile course on public roads. Even now the speed is shocking, and Moss still puts the pace down to the car’s extraordinary talents.

It was never turned into a road car, but someone did manage to fit timing gear to a racer and the results were staggering for the time. With just 305bhp from its 3.0-litre straight six, the SLR hit 60mph in 6.8sec, 100mph in an amazing 13.6sec and wound up to 176.5mph.

If anything, and in context, those numbers are even more impressive than the new SLR’s. In fact, the original was so revered that it has taken a project as outrageous as this new 207mph front-engined GT for Mercedes to feel comfortable reinstating the name. Sadly, there has been no mention of a modern interpretaion of the high-speed truck, powered by a 300SL engine, that Mercedes used to ferry the 300SLR around. What are the chances of a flat-bed Sprinter with the supercharged V8 from an SL55?

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