Friday 3rd December 2004

McLaren SLR follow-on project canned?

Leaked rumours say mini-SLR won't happen. Not many dead.

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A rumour has surfaced -- albeit with the most fleeting of glimpses -- that McLaren Mercedes was planning a smaller, cheaper version of the SLR -- but that it has now been canned. McLaren employees were apparently told yesterday. There might even be job losses.

Code-named Project 8 and said to be a competitor for the Ferrari F430, the mini-SLR would presumably have competed even more strongly in the space that Mercedes and BMW have carved out: the über-car with 500bhp as the entry-level power specification.

The source of the rumour is unclear, although one person, who claimed to be a McLaren employee, said last year that Project 8 "will be a smaller style of SLR with cost cutting in mind."

[pwellsie]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 12 November 2017 at 21:40

[Plotloss]

Shame.

Though I am convinced that all is not well in the Mclaren Mercedes partnership...

[andy_b]

well there was rumours in Car or Autocar a month or two back that Goron might be leaving.

Having worked at McLaren in the time of the F1, I feel the SLR let them down a bit. Its not exactly done well in road tests, particuarly the brakes, its heavy, its brash, its fat and bettered by the Carrera GT and Enzo. As a Mercedes I suppose it serves its puropose. As a McLaren, well the F1 is SOOOOO much better.

I'm sure if Gordon and the McLaren designers were given a more free reign, then the SLR would have been a much better car.

[Plotloss]

Interestingly there was an ad in Autosport recently, placed by Merc, for CF engineers.

Why would you need to recruit CF techs yourself if you have a fully functioning strategic partnership with the most skilled CF techs on Earth?

Its all a bit fishy I reckon...

[NDT]

andy_b said:

I'm sure if Gordon and the McLaren designers were given a more free reign, then the SLR would have been a much better car.

and it would have run even more over budget.....

[FestivAli]

Haven't Maclaren/Mercedes just built a massive showroom with other stuff/manufacturing facility and so on where they build the SLR? Surely there's no point to the whole lot if they were only going to manufacture one car? I know its just an illustration, but that car pictured looks perfect - a nice little thing to pop 500bhp into. Mercs version of the Viper, as far as I'm concerned. Why the hell wouldn't they? Rising oil prices?

[rico]

I think Mercedes has ruined the McLaren name with the SLR. Saw two SLRs tonight and they were sooo boring. McLaren should be a name given to the ultimate, not an SL55AMG with a carbon bodykit...

[joust]

Plotloss said:

Interestingly there was an ad in Autosport recently, placed by Merc, for CF engineers. Why would you need to recruit CF techs yourself if you have a fully functioning strategic partnership with the most skilled CF techs on Earth? Its all a bit fishy I reckon...

Unless of course you wanted CF engineers that could produce to a "road car" budget, rather than a F1 budget.

F1 and road cars are a world apart, as both the F1 and the MerMcl SLR have proved...

J

[Plotloss]

joust said:

Plotloss said: Interestingly there was an ad in Autosport recently, placed by Merc, for CF engineers. Why would you need to recruit CF techs yourself if you have a fully functioning strategic partnership with the most skilled CF techs on Earth? Its all a bit fishy I reckon... Unless of course you wanted CF engineers that could produce to a "road car" budget, rather than a F1 budget. F1 and road cars are a world apart, as both the F1 and the MerMcl SLR have proved... J

Body on the SLR created by Mclaren F1 CF techs...

You get the point Joust, stop being obtuse for the sake of it...

[crbox]

It's true about the smaller car.
My company is currently quoting to tool up components for a new vehicle. The emphasis is on cost reduction, so expect to find more steel and aluminium and less exotic materials.


>> Edited by crbox on Friday 10th December 15:10

[joust]

Plotloss said:

Body on the SLR created by Mclaren F1 CF techs... You get the point Joust, stop being obtuse for the sake of it...

Me, Moi???