Motor Head {test drive}: Formula for success

EXOTIC MERCEDES SLR McLAREN GETS PLENTY OF ATTENTION

By Ron Moorhead

Auto enthusiasts seem to always want the most powerful or most exquisite of vehicles. The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is a product of Mercedes-Benz's partnership in Formula 1 racing with McLaren. Drawing upon both companies' talents, they have produced a vehicle that is destined to be one of the world's great Grand Turismo (GT) automobiles.

Though it may be difficult to understand a $400,000 automobile, if you are anything close to a car nut, you'll get it. Most will be glad just to grab a glimpse of this exciting automobile, let alone get behind the wheel.

I found this Mercedes-Benz to be thoroughly exciting during my drive through the South African countryside. The roads just outside Cape Town are some of the most wonderful country and coastal places to test the mettle of any car and its driver. I was most surprised to see the reaction from villagers along the way. In a country with wide economic extremes, I was surrounded with onlookers at every stop. People just wanted to get close to the car and ask questions. I, and every other journalist on the ride, have never driven a vehicle that garnered such attention.

Under the sleek body lie a number of surprises. Teaming with McLaren, Mercedes-Benz has built a state-of-the-art carbon fiber monoque structure that can only be described as fascinating. Carbon fiber is used in exotic race cars to make them exceedingly strong and incredibly lightweight. It also is held in high regard by automotive engineers for its extraordinary crash worthiness and energy absorption. The car has a front, mid-engine design, meaning the front-mounted aluminum V-8 engine sits well rearward in the compartment. This configuration gives the SLR a near-perfect weight balance.

The 5.5-liter V-8 is enhanced by a supercharger that assists this big V-8 in producing a heart-pounding 626 horsepower and 575 lbs.-ft. of torque. This makes the SLR one of the most powerful production automobiles in the world.

Routing the exhaust out of the body just in front of the doors adds more than sporty looks. The sound that rumbles from the four two-inch stainless steel side pipes, from startup to full throttle, is enough to send shudders to the bone. It is the thing that auto enthusiasts crave. The vehicle is so quick that it can flash from a dead stop to 60 mph in well less than 4.0 seconds. Unofficially, Mercedes-Benz states a 3.8-second 0-to-60 time. Some people just like to know they have the performance when, and if, they need it.

The five-speed automatic transmission has driver-controlled variables that rival the most sophisticated available today. Two large dials on the center dash allow the driver to select among two modes of automatic and one mode for manual shifting. The automatic modes are normal and sport. Depending on the selected mode, the computer-controlled shifting can either be subtle for comfort, or sport for spirited driving. In manual mode, the driver can either tap the shifter side to side, or use the Formula 1-inspired steering wheel-mounted buttons to shift without removing both hands from the wheel.

The brakes are up to the challenge of keeping the reins on this performance beast. Large, capable ceramic brake rotors at all four wheels are fitted with equally large eight-piston calipers in front to help bring the SLR to a safe and sure stop. And if that seems to not be enough stopping force, at speeds over 59 mph, the rear spoiler pops up during braking to add brake force.

Steering is spot on. The fast-ratio rack-and-pinion steering is about as precise as it can get. Quick reflexes are the order of the day; it is as though the car is reading your mind. With just a slight input to the steering wheel, the SLR reacts. However, the ultra-wide, high-performance tires are prone to track roadway grooves and irregularities, giving the untrained driver a taller learning curve.

The interior is snug, with no wasted space. The fit and finish of the carbon fiber, leather and brushed aluminum panels are, in typical Mercedes-Benz fashion, perfect, just as is the location of switches, controls and gauges.

Similar to race cars, the carbon fiber seat shell and its cushions and bolsters are custom fit to the driver at the factory. Yes, that's right, the buyer is taken to the Woking, England, factory to have the seat fitted and to learn the intricacies of driving and owning a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.

The SLR is as out of the ordinary as you can get in a street-legal machine. The next step would be to attempt to drive a race car down your local freeway, which I wouldn't suggest. As the term "Grand Turismo" suggests, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is a grand way to tour back roads, be it in North America or South Africa.