If you obsessively dwell in the garden of supercars, you know there are machines about which you say, “I never really saw what was the big deal about (this badge.”)
Then there are others which, upon sight, you feel your eyes bulge and your heart pound and it’s “Let’s start the insanity. How much?”
The 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLR Stirling Moss is one of those vehicles, and one of them is up for auction at Sothebys starting January 31.
The first thing you should know is how unquestionably radical and perfect this version of the SLR is – we all knew it when it was unveiled at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The car itself is a tribute. Celebrating the 300 SLR which was piloted to a record-breaking victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia by Stirling Moss and codriver Denis Jekinson, the stated goal “would be the most radical and exciting road-going Mercedes-Benz produced since the CLK GTR Roadster.”
The reaction upon launch was instaneous. Car magazine, for example, road-tested the car in 2009 and likened the experience of full-throttle acceleration to ‘standing on the wingtip of a 747’ and cited the 0–100 MPH time of 3.5 seconds and top speed of 219 MPH as achievable only by those ‘whose neck muscles can bear it’.
That level of performance is accomplished in this case by using the same 641 bhp, 5.5-litre supercharged AMG V-8 that powers the SLR 722 Edition. They also knocked 440 pounds off it – an enormous about of weight – achieved by adoption of the speedster style as well as the extensive use of carbon fibre for the bodywork and underside and new aerodynamic package.
Practically all comfortable aspects of the SLR Stirling Moss were jettisoned or tweaked in the pursuit of performance, aesthetics, and extreme driver (and passenger) enjoyment. This even included the windshield and roof, ramping up the intensity of the driving experience tenfold.
This particular SLR Stirling Moss was first registered in Germany in 2010 and has been carefully preserved in the hands of just one private owner. It’s also hardly been driven 93 miles, making it pretty much still new throughout. It’s finished in the Stirling Moss’ quintessential colour scheme of metallic silver paintwork over a black and red leather interior, done as a modern twist on the colour scheme worn by the 300 SLRs when campaigned by Mercedes-Benz in 1955.
A lot of manufacturers are jumping on “speedster-style” supercars of late such as the McLaren Elva, Ferrari SP1 and SP2 and the Aston Martin V12 Speedster. No doubt, the SLR Stirling Moss surely provided some inspiration to those that followed.
But how many are still this pristine? Not “restored” in any way, but “never driven.” Each SLR Stirling Moss became an instant classic and a modern-day collectable, right out of the factory. Thus, this is a very special auction, indeed.
RM Sotheby’s is expecting to fetch between $3.26 million and $4.35 million for the SLR Stirling.
