These are the first pictures of Mercedes’ SLR McLaren convertible, recently confirmed by the German marque as going into production this summer. Spotted in Lanzarote being photographed for Mercedes' publicity material, the cabrio is a production version of the Vision SLR Roadster concept from 1999.And it’s likely to be one of the fastest roadsters in the world. Mercedes insiders have indicated that the cabrio will be as fast as the coupé SLR, which means a top speed of over 200mph. Mercedes claims 208mph for the coupé, which would make the roadster fractionally faster than the 206mph Lamborghini Murcielago soft-top.There’s also a chance that the roadster will use the 650bhp V8 from the special edition SLR 722 launched earlier this year, although the rest of that car’s modifications won’t make the jump onto the drop-top.To keep weight down, the SLR will retain the fabric roof of the concept. Although it has a carbonfibre body the SLR coupe weighs 1693kg, and the cabrio’s bracing in the body to make up for the lack of a fixed roof will add more weight.It’s rumoured that SLR sales are not meeting expectations, and the introduction of a roadster and the 722 edition should help improve volume. And with the SLR range complete, perhaps Mercedes and McLaren will move on to the long-awaited small supercar.
Add your comment