One to Buy: 1 of 1 in PTS Elfenbein 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster
/
Having created arguably the greatest super sports car of its day with the W198 300 SL Gullwing, Mercedes-Benz went on to sweat the Sport Leicht moniker with a line of luxurious boulevard cruisers that sold in massive numbers.
However, while extremely successful from a commercial point of view, the post W198 SL models left Mercedes customers craving a real top flight supercar. For a combination of logistical and economic reasons though, the timing never seemed quite right and the 20th century closed without Mercedes having manufactured a true series production successor to its most famous creation.
Fortunately, that all changed in the early 2000s when Mercedes teamed up with its F1 partner, McLaren, to offer the SLR. With McLaren’s brand new car building facility at its disposal and booming economic conditions, Mercedes would at last bring another Ferrari challenger to market.
The Type C199 SLR McLaren was produced between 2004 and 2009 in both Coupe and Roadster trim, but its vast list price meant demand was subdued and Mercedes ultimately missed its production target by quite some margin.
As a consequence, these cars are much more scarce than Mercedes would have liked and set to go under the hammer at Mecum’s sale in Fort Worth, Dallas, on November 1st is a true one-off: chassis ‘001843’.
Manufactured in 2009 which was the only year Mercedes provided a Paint To Sample option, ‘001843’ was ordered in special order Elfenbein, an Ivory shade from the W198 era. Inside, the first owner went for duo-tone Red and Black Silver Arrow leather which was another of the many expensive options ticked.
Reputedly one of just four Paint To Sample SLR Roadsters ever built, chassis ‘001843’ is being sold with a little under 9000 miles on the odometer fresh from a recent $14,500 service by an SLR specialist.
For more information visit the Mecum website at: https://www.mecum.com/
