The McLaren Mercedes-Benz SLR is inspired by the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR of 1955 which was actually based on the W196 F1 car, yet named after the road-going 300SL Gullwing.
The McLaren Mercedes-Benz SLR is a Anglo-German supercar jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and McLaren Automotive. Built in Portsmouth and the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. Daimler AG, owner of Mercedes-Benz, also owns 40% of the McLaren Group.
Classified as a supercar and compared to cars like the Porsche Carrera GT and Enzo Ferrari, the presence of the automatic gear box, front mid-engined arrangement and its driving characteristics lead some commentators to classify the SLR McLaren as a Super GT whose closer rivals are the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish and Ferrari 599 GTB. One of the goals of the SLR was to combine both supercar and GT characteristics.
The SLR sports a 232-kilogram (511.8 lb), hand-built, 5.4-litre (5439 cc/331.9 cu in), supercharged, all-aluminum, SOHC V8 engine. The cylinders are angled at 90 degrees with three valves per cylinder and lubricated via a dry sump system. The compression ratio is 8.8:1 and the bore and stroke is 97 milimetre (3.82 in) and 92 millimeters (3.62 in), respectively. The Lysholm-type twin-screw supercharger produces 0.9 bar (13 psi) of boost, the turbine rotates at 23000 revolutions per minute, and the air is cooled via two intercoolers. The engine generates a maximum power of 626 PS (617 hp/460 kW) at 6500 revolutions per minute and a maximum torque of 780 newton-metre (575 ft·lbf) at 3250 revolutions per minute.
Unlike most of its contemporaries, its engine is front-mid mounted. McLaren took the original concept car designed by Mercedes and moved the engine 1 metre behind the front bumper, and around 50 cm behind the front axle. They also optimized the design of the center firewall.
