Mercedes-Benz of Daytona Beach

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Walk Around

Just one look will tell anyone nearby that the SLR Roadster is something very special, a legitimate 200-mph car. From that long, pointy nose and front spoiler to the side exhaust pipes, the functional hood vents and fender vents and the scissor doors, there are very few front-engine cars that carry with them this kind of visual impact, and two of those are the aforementioned SLR coupes.

The main differentiator is the tight-fitting, tightly designed convertible top. Once the latch is released and the button pushed, a second push of the button will automatically stow and hide the top in a mere 10 seconds. Putting the top up is even easier than that. When the top is down, the decibels from the front fender-mounted exhaust pipes go way, way up, but that's part of the car's charm and part of what you're paying for in an exoticar like this one.

The rear bodywork behind the convertible top well contains an automatic air brake that functions like the ones used on Mercedes-Benz race cars of the 1950s, raising automatically to help slow the car and keep the rear end stable under hard braking. The rear underbody of the roadster has a built-in undertray to control airflow and add high-speed stability as well.

Interior

2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR

The SLR's inclusive list of standard equipment includes semi-aniline leather-upholstery mounted to a pair of carbon-fiber bucket seats that can be adapted to the driver and front passenger by means of different sized seat pads; dual-zone automatic air-conditioning; a Bose premium sound system; a multifunction sport steering wheel with gear-shift paddles, and a navigation system with an integral AM/FM radio and CD-changer built into it.

Don't look for a lot of fancy polished wood or chrome inside the SLR, because there isn't any. This is a very sporty interior, mostly black, with brushed finishes on most of the metallic pieces that don't flare back into your eyes in bright sunlight with the top down. Our silver test car had a black interior with a sort of terra cotta red accent trim, and it was all put together perfectly, with the accent on delivering necessary data to the driver as quickly and clearly as possible through two central instrument pods up high on the dash panel.

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