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Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren - Design Concept
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Yesterday, today and tomorrow:
the design concept of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
- Perpetuation of the sports car legends of the 1950s
- Front-end design incorporating features of the Formula 1 Silver Arrows
- Distinctive twin-headlamp face of the latest Mercedes models
- Trends for future sports car design
January 1999. The North American International Auto Show in Detroit: Mercedes-Benz unveils its vision for the high-performance sports car of the future, billing it "Tomorrow's Silver Arrow". Just three letters are enough to show that this new car is going to be something extra-special: SLR.
By so doing, the Stuttgart-based car maker is evoking memories of the legendary racing cars of the 1950s, and of the sensational victories in the Mille Miglia in Italy, the Tourist Trophy in Northern Ireland or in the Eifel Race on the Nürburgring. Many motor racing greats, including Sir Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling, sat at the wheel of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR and drove it to one victory after the next.
Mid-2003: the SLR project is reaching its conclusion. Some four years on from the launch of the show-car in Detroit, a new GT model is entering the home straight and finishing with a final flourish. In September 2003, it will go on show to the world.
The design, engineering and product planning teams have together developed a top-class car all-round; a sports car the like of which can only be created under the masterful guidance of the longest-standing car manufacturer in the world, working in close cooperation together with another vastly experienced and skilful partner from the world of motorsport.
Yesterday, today and tomorrow - that's the recipe that is the making of this new high-performance car. The design concept makes it plain for all to see: the SLR takes both elements from the 1955 SLR racing cars and typical features from the modern-day, championship-winning Silver Arrows from 1998, and blends them together with the avant-garde looks of the latest Mercedes passenger cars. With its highly successful and stimulating composition of styling details, Mercedes-Benz is already setting trends for future sports car design.
Race track breeding: distinctive twin-fin spoiler and arrow-shaped nose
It is the front end in particular which singles out the new Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren as a direct descendent of the racing cars which have been so successful in recent times: the centre is dominated by the distinguishing, arrow-shaped nose of the Silver Arrows Formula One car encompassing the Mercedes star at the front, an unmistakable hallmark of manufacturing origins that are steeped in tradition.
Underneath the nose can be found a further typical styling element taken from the Formula One race cars which took McLaren Mercedes to the World Championship crown in 1998 and 1999, and which have already secured a number of victories this season too: the twin-fin front spoiler. As with the Silver Arrows, these aerofoil fins are more than just a stylish identifying feature, they are actually crucial to the car's aerodynamics. The high contact pressure they produce at the front axle plays a key role in the new SLR's sure-footed, race-car-like roadholding.
The fin design was adopted as a recurring feature of the SLR's exterior, thereby maintaining a high level of design consistency: finned sections also separate the headlamps from the nose, form the base for the exterior mirrors and adorn the taillights on each side of the car, where the indicators' LEDs are housed in two self-supporting fins positioned one above the other.
