For sale: one very special Mercedes-McLaren

RM Sotheby’s has brought to auction a very special “hybrid” that's not in the common petrol-electric sense, but rather that the car was a unique collaboration between two very different motor companies.

The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was a co-creation by German automotive manufacturer Mercedes-Benz and Britain’s McLaren Automotive when they were Formula One partners.

It was built as a coupé and open-top roadster and sold from 2003 to 2010.

The SLR McLaren Stirling Moss roadster was the most radical iteration and only 75 units were built. Unveiled at the 2009 Detroit auto show, it celebrated the 300 SLR which was driven to a record-breaking victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia by Stirling Moss and co-driver Denis Jenkinson.

In the spirit of the 300 SLR, nearly all the creature comforts of the SLR Stirling Moss were sacrificed in the pursuit of performance, aesthetics and extreme driver (and passenger) enjoyment. This even included removing the windscreen and roof which not only added to the visual drama, but also ramped up the intensity of the driving experience.

With the car’s 354km/h top speed and 3.5 second 0-100km/h ability, one motoring magazine likened the experience of full-throttle acceleration to “standing on the wingtip of a 747”.

The performance was supplied by a 5.5l supercharged AMG V8 that powered the SLR 722 Edition and pairing it with 200kg of weight savings, which included extensive use of carbon fibre for the bodywork.

Other technical highlights included carbon-ceramic brake discs that provided better stopping power and fade resistance than steel discs.

This particular SLR Stirling Moss was first registered in Germany in 2010 and has only 150km on the clock. It is finished in Stirling Moss’s quintessential colour scheme of metallic silver paintwork over a black and red leather interior, done as a modern twist on the colour scheme worn by the 300 SLRs when campaigned by Mercedes-Benz in 1955.

With many manufacturers now producing speedster-style supercars such as the McLaren Elva, Ferrari SP1 and SP2, and the Aston Martin V12 Speedster, the SLR Stirling Moss may have provided inspiration to those that followed.

The left-hand drive car is offered without reserve via Sotheby’s Sealed and is expected to fetch between €3m to €4m (R56m-R76m). Bids close on February 8 2023.