by : Evander Klum

The Mercedes-Benz SLR acquired a dedicated status in the world of motor racing during the mid-1950s. Aside from its long list of legendary race victories, its cutting edge technology and thrilling design instantly transformed it into a blueprint for all high-caliber Gran Turismo touring cars.

To receive a world premiere in autumn 2007, the new Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster is likewise equipped with charisma and technology that is ahead of its time. Just like today's Formula 1 racing cars, it boasts a carbon-fiber construction that gives it very high levels of safety and exceptional torsion stiffness on a par with the Coupe version. To produce outstanding handling characteristics, the construction blends with a with motorsport origins. The 460-kW/626-hp AMG supercharged V8 engine under the hood of the new high-performance sports car pushes it to a maximum speed of 332 km/h, matching the outstanding mark set by the Coupe. Its occupants never have to compromise on comfort or everyday practicality despite of the fact that the Roadster comes with a fully retractable soft top to flux pure open-air driving felicity with the ultimate in performance. In this manner, the Roadster succeeds in taking driving culture and motoring pleasure into an entirely new dimension for open-top super sports cars.

Among the ranks of high-performance open-top sports cars, the SLR McLaren Roadster is in hock to carve out a very special name for it. This is because of its motor-racing genes and the throughout use of high-tech materials that, despite all their inherent benefits, are generally only ever found in a few individual components of even premium series-production cars due to the high costs and well detailed manufacturing processes involved.

This is particularly true to the high-strength but lightweight carbon-fiber composite materials (CFRP) that are utilized. Mercedes-Benz and McLaren, its Formula 1 partner, have gained a number of years of experience with this material that is conventionally used in the aviation and space industries. In an impact, carbon fibers have a level of energy absorption which is four to five times higher than that of steel or aluminum. The weight advantage of this high-tech material over steel is about 50 per cent.

The new high-performance Roadster invested on all of these benefits. The complex carbon-fiber technology has furthermore undergone a modern redevelopment for the Roadster's monocoque. As a result, there is low weight as well as excellent energy absorption due to the unique carbon-fiber crash structures, which imply excellent occupant safety, plus a level of torsional stiffness that is beyond comparable for an open-top car. This gives rise to the sort of sparkling performance that is normally the preserved idea of super sports cars with a fixed roof.

Should you want to change the air intake of your McLaren, check your owner's manual and see if an can be a remedy.