In 2009, the Mercedes-McLaren partnership built this SLR Stirling Moss edition to pay homage to the British Racing Legend and the original Mercedes 300 SLR Race Car.
The world of motorsports saw the passing away of Sir Stirling Moss last week. He was rightly regarded as ‘Mr. Motor Racing’ and the best F1 driver never to have won a World Championship. But it is not always a World Championship title that commemorates the skill of a driver as we rightly saw in the case of Stirling Moss. The motoring community from across the world is pouring in tributes for this legend but did you know this Mercedes-McLaren SLR was actually built to pay homage to the British Racing legend. It is in fact known as the Mercedes-McLaren SLR Stirling Moss Edition.
If you drool over the modern day Ferrari Monzas and the McLaren Elva and think they are stunning works of design, this SLR Stirling Moss edition is more than 10 years old but it still looks like it was built just yesterday. It is based on the standard Mercedes-McLaren SLR that already took inspiration from the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR race car. Known as Speedsters for their body style, these cars with no roof and no windshield epitomize the thrill of open-cockpit racing cars from the days gone by.
The SLR Stirling Moss Edition had two air scoops just behind the passenger compartment that acted as roll-over bars. The car even came with a tonneau cover when the passenger seat was not in use to further improve the aerodynamics and give the SLR a side-slung single-seater look. The massive front nose with air scoops built in the front fenders and the short rear section gives the car a stunning silhouette.
The Mercedes-McLaren SLR Stirling Moss edition was powered by a 5.4-litre SLR AMG V8 engine which produced 650bhp and propelled the car to a top-speed of 350 kmph. It had 34bhp more than the standard SLR and the top-speed was higher by 16 kmph but the real difference was brought about by a massive weight shedding of 200 kg. That was achieved due to the speedster design and use of lots of carbon fibre in its construction.
Also Read : This Watch Comes Fitted With A W16 Bugatti Chiron Engine!
The SLR Stirling Moss edition made its debut at the 2009 North American International Auto Show and costed a whopping USD 1 million. But even if you were a millionaire, you couldn’t just go ahead and buy the car. IT was only made available to customers who already owned a standard SLR. What’s more? Just 75 examples of the SLR Stirling Moss edition has ever been built, making it one of the most expensive and rare cars of all time.
Also Read : This Motorcycle is Fitted With A Helicopter Engine With A Top Speed of 445kmph
Another interesting fact about the SLR Stirling Moss edition is that this car was going to be last line of SLR models built under the Mercedes-McLaren partnership. This car is such a fitting tribute to the legend that was Sir Stirling Moss and the original Mercedes 300 SLR race car that the racer raced in. He will be forever be fondly remembered in the hearts of motoring enthusiasts.
