SPY PICS: Need for Speedster

Mercedes-Benz and McLaren will go their own road car ways soon, despite the German brand increasing its shareholding in the F1-based British automotive think-tank. As scooped by the Carsales Network months ago, the brands' sign-off will be the Speedster version of the carbonfibre-chassised SLR McMerc.

Captured here doing some serious circuit work by the snap-happy shooters at Carparazzi, the grotesquely camouflaged open-top sportster is clearly not for the faint-hearted, with tons of grunt from its supercharged 5.4-litre V8 and nothing -- or very little -- to carry.

The roofless, windscreenless, gullwing-doored Speedster is said to be around 200kg lighter than its SLR coupe equivalent. This means that, with around 485kW to throw around, it should be able to accelerate from zero to 100km/h in not a lot more than three seconds and top out as high as 350km/h.

Apart from the lack of a roof and windscreen, further weight-saving measures are said to include minimalist furniture and extensive use of carbon fibre, while things like ceramic brakes and the probability of an even more track-focused suspension suit it more for the race circuit than the road.

Rumour is circulating that McLaren is thinking about reprising its famous F1 coupe of the 1990s with a modern-day equivalent. Would this mean the end of the reign for Bugatti’s Veyron?

Talking of which, the Mercedes-McLaren SLR Speedster, for all its snorting, barking racetrack antics, will seem cheap by comparison with an estimated pricetag of 750,000 Euro -- something like AUD$1.2 million.

Our sources indicate that SLR Speedster will be limited to a production run of 75 units -- and don't worry about saving your bickies, they're all sold.

-- with Carparazzi

To comment on this article click here