Fare thee well, Mercedes SLR

It's the end of an era for Mercedes-Benz and McLaren, with the last of the SLR models rolling off the production line.

Two companies that were allied in motorsport and production, two companies that were once friends, will become rivals. The last 75 versions of the SLR Stirling Moss herald a new era of competition between Mercedes-Benz and McLaren.

As the production of the SLR series comes to an end in 2009, Benz -- through Mercedes-AMG -- will introduce its SLS AMG Gullwing sports car, while McLaren will unleash the MP4-12C sports car.

Furthermore, the McLaren and Mercedes F1 teams will also be rivals in the 2010 championship, no doubt hoping that wins on Sunday result in sales on Monday.

Though the alliance is coming to an end, the SLR supercar will go down in history as a classic. Over its almost six year lifespan, some 2000 SLRs have found owners.

The last ever Mercedes-Benz SLR McLarens, the special edition Stirling Moss models, are powered by supercharged V8 engines that develop an astonishing 478kW of power, and accelerate from zero to 100km/h in less than 3.5 seconds. Top speed is an impressive 350 km/h.

"Three letters are all it takes to make car fans go into raptures: SLR," says Mercedes. Those three letters relate to "sporty", "light" and "raceworthy" according to the German marque, though in truth the SLR was one of the heaviest cars in its class.

Nevertheless, the SLR spirit will live on, "perpetuated by the enthusiastic members of the SLR. CLUB," Mercedes says. "In addition to a passion for driving, the members of this exclusive community of drivers, all of whom have an SLR model in their garages, share a discerning, sophisticated lifestyle and the enjoyment of encounters with like-minded enthusiasts."

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