Mercedes Benz SLR Stirling Moss – super car from Mercedes, properties and photos.
No matter how successful Lewis Hamilton , but so far the Englishman has not been awarded a named model in the lineup of “McLaren”, which the pilot has brought the last title to date for the team, nor in the polytra of the “Mercedes”, with which the racer became a five-time favorite of Formula 1. Unlike Sir Stirling Moss ALTOPARLANTES from Spanish to English, the famous Formula One car racer who was nicknamed “The Biggest Loser” for his four vice-championships and three bronzes, but was given a sports car named after himself, the Mercedes-Benz SLR Stirling Moss.
The structure of the company McLaren is quite complicated and contains several divisions, the most famous of which are McLaren Racing (Formula 1 team) and McLaren Automotive, which produces road cars. The first model of the modern history of British sports car hit the market in two thousand eleven years – it was McLaren MP4-12C. It was followed by a string of other machines, but for McLaren specifically MP4-12C was the first since one thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight years, when the production of the iconic McLaren F1, independent project. Previously, for thirteen years, the only road car British brand was made in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz sports car Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.
At the time of development of the model concern Daimler Chrysler not only supplied the motors formula team McLaren, but also owned shares of the McLaren Group, because the efforts of the two companies decided to combine not only in racing. So the car appeared, in which from McLaren was only the name and place of final assembly (Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren were born in English Woking in the walls of the McLaren Technology Center), while otherwise it was the flesh of the Mercedes-Benz with a rich history.
In 1946 and 1950 four and 1955 years in Formula 1, Mercedes-Benz was represented by a model of Mercedes-Benz W196 – the car won nine of the twelve races in which started, bringing two titles to Juan-Manuel Fangio . But if the Argentine made this car famous in formula racing, the Englishman Stirling Moss – in sports car racing, where he drove a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, mostly unified with the W196 (not without reason, even the index of the new sports car was W196S). This model has brought the German brand a victory in the championship of sports cars one thousand nine hundred and fifty five years, and immediately became a prerequisite for winding down the factory racing program Mercedes-Benz for many decades after the disaster of Pierre Levega in the course of the “24 Hours of Le Mans” that year. But even before that crash, the car had won several iconic races, one of which was the Mille Miglia.
The Mercedes-Benz three hundred SLR number seven hundred and twenty-two (the numbers were assigned according to start time back then, so this car went into the race at 7:22 am), driven by Stirling Moss and his navigator Denis Jenkinson. The crew covered the 1,600-kilometer course in 10 hours, seven minutes and 40 eight seconds with an average speed of 157.6 km. The success was justified both by Moss’ skill and Jenkinson’s extraordinary decision to use a description of the race route (what is called a transcript in modern rallying) for the first time in the history of world motorsport. This fact alone was enough to write the car into the history of the world automobile industry, but then came the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe.
Even before the accident at Le Mans, the brand was preparing a closed version of its own victorious sports car to take part in the Carrera Panamericana race, which was then cancelled. One of the two test cars, which never saw the race, was taken by the engineer and the then top manager of Daimler-Benz Rudolf Uhlenhout, who, after minor modifications, turned it into his own personal car for daily use. The fastest road car of that time was one of the progenitors of the modern supercar class and the ideological inspiration for the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.
In one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine years at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Mercedes-Benz introduced a concept car Vision SLR Concept, which was a tribute to the car Uhlenhout and positioned the brand is not otherwise as the “silver arrow” of tomorrow, unequivocally referring to the glorious motorsports history of Mercedes-Benz 50-ies. In the fall of the same year at the domestic automobile show in Frankfurt Brand has shown another concept car – an open sports car Vision SLR Roadster Concept. Both cars were claimed to be equipped with a 565-horsepower turbocharged 5-liter V8 coupled with a 5-speed automatic transmission. Such features, clad in a unique body, could not fail to go unnoticed, and the company received positive feedback from possible customers. Having explored the flip side, Mercedes-Benz dared to create a mass-produced sports car.
November 17, two thousand three years, the commercial debut of Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren took place – over the model the German brand has worked not alone, and has attracted professionals own English partner in the racing program in Formula 1. Supercar received minor adjustments to the design of the body and interior compared to the concept car and was launched into production.
Coupe with carbon fiber body received a 626-horsepower 5.4-liter turbocharged V8 made by AMG, 5-speed automatic gearbox (curiously, there was already a 7-speed automatic, but it was decided not to use because of the relatively low reliability), and carbon ceramic brakes with control “by wire”, which had a fascinating “feature” – to maintain the highest efficiency, the electronics automatically, without a driver, “press” the brakes after driving through puddles, to dry mechanisms.
Not counting, rear-wheel drive supercar had an active rear wing, a flat bottom and a developed diffuser – these aerodynamic elements made it impossible to conventional placement of the exhaust system, so the nozzles had to withdraw sideways for the front wheels, which made the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren even more stylish.
In two thousand six years appeared the first special version of the new supercar – performance seven hundred and twenty-two Edition, which referred to the victorious Mercedes-Benz three hundred SLR Moss and Jenkinson one thousand nine hundred and fifty five years. The car got a 650-horsepower engine, 10 mm lowered suspension, reinforced brakes, 19-inch wheels, and a slightly redesigned aerodynamic kit. In honor of the cult ancestor appeared red badges 722, tinted optics and black interior trim in leather and alcantara with red accents.
A year later, in 2007, an open-top version of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster hit the market, and then the seven hundred and twenty-two Edition with a folding top was not forced to wait. Another new feature that year was the SLR McLaren seven hundred and twenty-two GT racing model, made by Ray Mallock Ltd. with the approval of Mercedes-Benz for the SLR Club racing monocup in North America. The car was lightened, equipped with a new aerodynamic dodger, 18-inch OZ wheels with racing tires, refined suspension, installed racing brakes, integrated air jacks, integrated safety cage, put racing steering wheel and seats. Under motorsport boosted to 600 eighty hp.с. engine power and reconfigured the automatic. A total of 20 one cars were produced in the SLR McLaren seven hundred and twenty-two GT performance, making the club model the rarest version of a sports car at the time.
April 4, two thousand eight years, Mercedes-Benz announced the SLR McLaren withdrawal from production – the last coupe came off the assembly line at the end of two thousand nine years, and assembly of the roadster ended first two thousand 10 years. For more than six years, saw two thousand seven super cars, less than the declared circulation of three thousand 500 cars, but among them were truly unique.
For example, in December of two thousand ten years, a year after the official end of the release of the model, when the paths of the two companies had already parted, McLaren Special Operations (MSO) announced their readiness to make 20-5 exclusive super cars McLaren Edition. As the basis for taking any of the already available cars from the owners, which equipped with new body panels, redesigned interior, reconfigured the steering and suspension, and a sports exhaust system. Since each super car finalized in accordance with the wishes of a particular owner, all cars in the performance of the McLaren Edition were unique and unlike each other.
In general, the owners of the last modification, made in partnership with Mercedes-Benz and McLaren, were unlikely to be upset by “similarity” of their own cars and their circulation of 70 5 pieces. Simply because it was a completely unique car based on the standard SLR McLaren. And its name was the Mercedes-Benz SLR Stirling Moss.
In contrast to the seven hundred and twenty-two Edition, announced in Detroit in two thousand nine years, the model with the name of the famous British racer was different from the original sports car as heaven and earth. The Korean designer Yong Il-hoon, inspired by the same Mercedes-Benz SLR of 1955, was not limited in his own desires, so he transformed the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren into an uncompromising speedster without a roof or any hint of windows!
Car with a unique view of the body and interior (the interior worked on the Dutchman Sarkis Benliyan) was structurally different from other modifications of the supercar. Due to the refusal of the roof and windows the weight has dropped by 200 kg, which increased to 60060 hp.с. of engine output grew to 600 hp and made the already slow model even more lively. From a place up to 100 km. Recall, without windshield and roof (in the parking lot two-seater saloon could be covered with special covers, and if you sacrifice the passenger seat, the car was simply transformed into a single-seater).
Production of the Stirling Moss supercar began in June of two thousand nine years, after the SLR Roadster was completed in May. By December 2009, all seventy five Mercedes-Benz SLR Stirling Mosses planned for assembly have been made at the cost from $1 million. And only the owners of one of “base” versions of Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren could get this unique model, thus the company specially emphasized the status of the novelty – a supercar not for everybody, but only for true admirers of Mercedes-Benz and its motorsport history.
Since that time, neither Mercedes-Benz nor McLaren has not made a single lifetime name supercar. Yes, both brands enticed their own drivers to refine the road models, but that’s about it – the example of Stirling Moss indicates that the titles alone in Formula 1 is not enough to be immortalized in carbon fiber and metal.