Bonhams auction house is holding an auction on 9 October in Belgium offering for sale a Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Roadster of which only 150 examples have ever been produced.
The Mercedes SLR McLaren was not exactly a success. Mercedes had planned to sell 3,500 units between 2003 and early 2010, 500 units per year, but only managed to find 2,157 customers. Even as a collector’s car, the Mercedes 300 SLR McLaren didn’t reach the astronomical prices of the famous Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing, with the models sold at auction selling for less than the new car’s 2003 price of 452,000 euros.
However, limited edition 722 Edition examples of the coupe are valued at higher prices among collectors. The same situation is for the Mercedes 300 SLR McLaren 722 S Roadster which is the roadster version of the 722 Edition.
The Mercedes SLR McLaren had a 5.4 litre V8 engine with 3 valves per cylinder, supercharged with a Lysholm mechanical supercharger developing 626 PS (617 HP) and 780 N⋅m (575 lbf⋅ft) between 3,250 and 5,000 rpm. The 722 S Roadster version had a modified V8 engine delivering 650 PS (641 HP) at 6,500 rpm and 820 N⋅m (605 lb⋅ft) at 4,000 rpm. It was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in autumn 2007 and has been available for sale since January 2009. Only 150 copies were produced. It can accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) from standstill in 3.1 seconds and has top speed of 334 km/h (208 mph).
Like the standard Mercedes SLR McLaren Roadster, the limited series 722 S Roadster featured the controversial Sensotronic Brake Control system with ceramic brake discs.
The auctioned model is almost new with only 82 km on board and was built to Swiss specifications. The car is painted in a special Fire Opal colour and the interior is upholstered in Silver Arrow Leather – 300 SL Red with a Red-Black soft top. It has Carbon-fibre bucket-type sport seats XL size, Black carbon interior trim, red seat belts and shoulder straps and 2-tone steering wheel. Comes standard with 19-inch forged aluminum multi-spoke wheels .
The estimated sale price is between 500,000 and 600,000 euros.
