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Instant Classics

75 SLRs that 12 years ago celebrated Moss

Photo credit: Mercedes-Benz

The idea of a Mercedes inspired by the glories of the ’50s originally came to light in 2003 with the first SRL which of course was presented in Brescia during the start of the 2004 Mille Miglia. But the truly evocative series of the 300 SLR with which Moss and Jenkinson won the 1955 Mille Miglia and set the all-time record, is the one presented in homage to the recently deceased English racing driver in 2008.

Just like the historical reference model it was inspired by, the SLR Stirling Moss also has very high side sills

The approach was truly an extreme one: no roof and not even a windscreen for that matter: driving it with a helmet was practically mandatory. Just 75 were produced, each one sold with a very particular formula: in addition to the not exactly low price tag of €750,000, potential buyers also had to demonstrate that they already owned one of the 150 SRL McLaren editions produced. We are talking about the years in which Mercedes engines were used by the McLaren F1 team and the marriage also lead to additional turnover of this nature. Not bad at all!

The shape is characterized by the elongated engine hood due to the absence of windows. There is no interruption between exterior and interior and the engine hood appears to extend right into the interior

From a mechanical point of view, the SLR Moss Edition inherited the solutions of the car it derived from, such as the supercharged V8 engine capable of producing 650hp and delivering truly impressive performance: 0 to 100 km/h arrived in just 3.5 seconds and the car went on to a maximum speed of 350 km/h. The bodywork, made entirely in carbon fibre, highlighted the different dimensions between historic and modern cars: powerful in size, it looked rather unbalanced with a front end that appeared particularly long thanks to the total absence of any form of windshield.

It’s nice to remember it with the unforgettable Stirling Moss next to it.

To protect driver and passenger from the wind, the car features just two tiny deflectors. Two domes integrated into the bodywork act as a roll-bar