SLR 722

STORY

A collaboration between Mercedes-Benz and its then Formula 1 partner McLaren, the SLR McLaren was a front-mid-engined supercar built from 2003 to 2010. Its heart was a hand-assembled 5.4-litre AMG V8, supercharged rather than turbocharged, producing 617 hp and a thunderous, unmistakable soundtrack.

Everything about it was unconventional. AMG built the engines in Germany and shipped them to Woking, where McLaren fitted them into a carbon-fibre body set more than a metre behind the front axle, giving the car its extravagantly long bonnet. Power went to the rear wheels through a five-speed automatic, and carbon-ceramic brakes with a rising air brake at the tail hauled it down.

Around 2,157 were built across coupé, roadster and speedster forms, including the 722 Edition honouring Moss's Mille Miglia. It remains a singular fusion of German muscle and British engineering.