The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren reignited the SLR legacy and signaled Mercedes-Benz’s return to building true super sports cars. Drawing on historic icons like the Uhlenhaut Coupé and the original 1955 SLR, the modern SLR blended classic design cues with Formula 1–derived technology from the Silver Arrows era, creating a direct link between motorsport heritage and contemporary performance.
The most extreme and final evolution was the SLR McLaren Stirling Moss, the last model produced under the Mercedes-McLaren partnership. Designed by Yoon Il-hun and unveiled in 2009, it paid clear tribute to the roofless 1955 SLR sports racers driven by Stirling Moss. With no roof or windscreen, it shed roughly 200kg compared with the standard SLR. Power came from a 641 horsepower supercharged V8, enabling sub-3.5-second sprints to 100km/h and a top speed of 350km/h.
Production was capped at just 75 examples, all allocated to existing SLR owners and completed in 2009. One such car is scheduled to cross the block at RM Sotheby’s Paris auction on January 30, carrying an estimate of $3,250,000 to $3,850,000.
This particular car was completed on 16 December 2009 in Crystal Laurit Silver Metallic with a Black and Anthracite leather interior accented in Silver Arrow Red. It features carbon-fibre seats, red brake calipers, and 19-inch twin-spoke wheels.
Initially retained by Daimler as a demonstration vehicle, it was first road-registered in 2011 and later sold to a private owner with minimal mileage. The car was serviced in September 2025 and shows only 1,935 kilometres at cataloguing and is offered with period accessories, including driving caps, goggles, covers, documentation, and a scale model.
Source: RM Sotheby’s
