Mercedes-Benz introduces new breed of sports car

The two-seater, with its striking swing-wing doors and styling elements borrowed from the Formula 1 Silver Arrows joins a select club of supercars capable of a top speed of over 330km/h.
The new vehicle builds on the legacy of the famous SLR race cars of the 1950s and is an impressive testament to the competence and experience of Mercedes-Benz and its Formula 1 partner McLaren in the development and production of high-performance sports cars.

"Equipped with cutting-edge race car technology and groundbreaking new Mercedes developments, designed to ensure a high standard of safety and suitability for day-to-day use, the new SLR creates a distinctive image for itself as a 21st-century Gran Turismo - a thrilling synthesis of tradition and innovation," said Steffen Baumann, Sales and Marketing Director, Mercedes-Benz Car Group, Dubai.

Underneath the bonnet is a newly developed V8 supercharged engine delivering 626 hp and capable of accelerating the supercar from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.8 seconds.

The body of the new SLR, like those of the Mercedes-McLaren Formula 1 race cars, is made from carbon fibre composites - lightweight materials which demonstrate exemplary energy absorption, hence ensuring the highest standard of occupant protection.

The SLR is the world's first series-produced car to have a front crash structure manufactured entirely from carbon fibres. Adaptive airbags, newly developed kneebags and sidebags, belt tensioners, high-performance ceramic brake discs and an automatically adaptive airbrake in the boot lid round off the range of safety equipment on board the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, setting new standards in this vehicle class.