The last – but possibly not greatly lamented – Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR Roadster is headed for the US, where it will be the star turn at a charity auction benefiting sick children.
This ‘special’ SLR has been specified with a brown pearl metallic paintjob and tobacco interior, tastefully highlighted with gold leaf accents on the brake calipers. Otherwise this final production car is standard, with a 5.5 litre V8 supercharged to nearly 620bhp.
The auction is scheduled to start at 1pm Eastern Standard Time on November 20th, so would be collectors have plenty of time to liquidise some assets in time for a bid. The bidding will be started by Mercedes-Benz at $529,500 – with any proceeds over and above that amount going to charity.
Despite the credit crunch, the car is predicted to sell for a significant premium over its reserve due to its unique status as the ‘final’ SLR.
Perhaps of greater interest to enthusiasts is the fact that the end of the SLR line will free up production capacity at McLaren for the ‘P11’ project. This Merc V8 powered supercar has been conceived to take on the Ferrari F430 and Lamborghini Gallardo and is eagerly anticipated as the true ‘spiritual successor’ to the legendary McLaren F1 – something the SLR itself never managed to achieve.