New M-B Will Be Made in England

Do you remember when Mercedes-Benz was a force in sports car racing? Im not talking about Formula 1, where its engines are made by Englands Ilmor Engineering (now 55% owned by M-B) and chassis by McLaren (40% owned by M-B). Im not even referring to DTM, where Bernd Schneider often dominates in heavily modified CLKs. I mean sports car racing, where real production cars go head to head

Mercedes wants us to remember back to the 1950s when the 300 SLR, driven by Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss and Karl Kling, earned its reputation as one of the most successful racing cars of all time. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)

Mercedes wants us to remember the mid 1950s when Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling

The F1, shown here coming around a bend at the 1997 FIA/PSR Grand Prix Finale at Laguna Seca, annihilated the GT competitors of its era. Both road and race versions are still considered some of the fastest and best handling GT cars ever produced. Its maker, McLaren, will be in charge of constructing the new SLR. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)

While the closest the new SLR will make it to the track might be running pace car duties, it will hold nothing back in street car performance. A hyper-tuned

In a nod to the classic 300 SL, the 550-hp SLR sports beautiful scissor-type doors. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)

The aforementioned F1 chassis builder, McLaren, will be in charge of constructing the car, something the Woking, England outfit has proven itself extremely worthy of after annihilating GT competitors with its McLaren F1 supercar, still considered one of the fastest, best handling GT ever made.

To reduce weight and increase torsional rigidity the new Mercedes will sport a carbon fiber structure and composite

The SLR coupe will debut this fall at the Frankfurt auto show, but unfortunately the expected roadster version has been put on hold. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)

Taking a cue from the classic 300 SL, the new SLR will boast scissor-type doors, although more akin to those found on a Lamborghini Murciélago than a Gullwing. Nevertheless they are the stuff of dreams, part of the mystique that elevates a sports car to the level of exotica.

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