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(Fri 29 Sep 06) One of the stars of this year's Paris Show is an even more than usually potent version of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. The 722 Edition - named after the racing number of the Mercedes 300 SLR in which Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson won the 1955 Mille Miglia - has a supercharged 5.5-litre V8 engine which produces 650bhp and gives rise to even greater performance than you can expect from the "standard" car.
There's not actually a lot in it, but the figures are still mightily impressive. The top speed is 209mph, 0-62mph is achieved in 3.6 seconds, 0-125mph takes 10.2 seconds and 0-186mph is over and done with in 28.0 seconds. Not many of us will ever own an SLR McLaren, and even fewer will have the chance to get their hands on the 722 Edition, since only 150 examples are being built.
Slightly less exclusive, but still not exactly run-of-the-mill, are the CL 63 AMG (pictured) and the S 63 AMG. Both cars use the same 525bhp 6.3-litre V8 engine, which boasts more power per litre than any naturally-aspirated unit in production. The performance is very similar in each case - each car will accelerate from 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds, and the top speed is identical at 155mph, though it's safe to say that both would go quite a lot quicker than that without electronic speed limiters. There will be just one version of the S 63 AMG, but the CL 63 AMG comes in short- and long-wheelbase forms. All three will go on sale in January next year. Also on display in Paris is the SLK Edition 10, a tribute by Mercedes-Benz to its own SLK sports car. Not intended for production, the Edition 10 is a styling exercise as much as anything, and exists partly to illustrate what the company describes as "a trend in the future colour styling of automobiles".
Examples of this include the matt grey metallic paint scheme and the high-sheen, dark grey finish on the 17" alloy wheels. Inside, much is made of the contrast between black and silver, and even the rear light clusters have been darkened to add to the shades-of-grey effect. Mercedes is also using the Paris Show to launch the new CL-Class which Tom Stewart has already tested for us (see launch report) and the 4MATIC permanent four-wheel drive system now available in the S-Class. Mercedes-Benz Gallery Previous: Toyota Develops Sporty Yaris Next: Audi Supercar Ready To Go |
