McLaren SLR Stirling Moss Revealed: Introduction set for Detroit Auto Show

You've heard of "going out on top". Well, the final product of the Mercedes-Benz / McLaren Cars alliance is the 2009 McLaren SLR Stirling Moss revealed today by Mercedes-Benz. The car will debut at the North American International Auto Show next month in Detroit.

The Moss model's carbon-fiber bodywork is wrapped around the SLR McLaren 722 S Roadster and its 650 horsepower, 5.5-liter supercharged V8. The Moss has neither windscreen nor top giving a true open-air motoring experience as speeds up to 217mph and the capability of reaching 100mph from a standing start in just 3.5sec. An airbrake deploys automatically when braking from above 120mph and can be actuated manually.

Although priced at a hefty €750,000 per unit, the 75 supercars set for production beginning in June 2009 are so linked to the Mercedes-Benz post-WWII racing legacy that there should be no drama in selling the lot.

The 300SLR was the most advanced and dominant sportcar during its brief and tragic four-race career in 1955. Debuting at the Mille Miglia, the No. 722 300SLR carried Moss and journalist Denis Jenkinson to a record-setting victory. Jenkinson's chronicle of that adventure is one of the great accounts of a sporting event. Moss later dominated the Tourist Trophy and the Targa Floria and was leading the 24 Hours of Le Mans when Mercedes-Benz withdrew from the race following the tragic pit straight accident that claimed dozens of lives. Following the 1955 season, the company withdrew from racing altogether, not returning for some 30 years, and then in partnership with Peter Sauber.