All About Cars

Of all the products in Mercedes’ stable that could benefit from a thorough tweaking, the McLaren SLR isn’t one of them. But Brabus has built its name on taking things to the illogical extreme, and its modification of the new SLR Roadster is no different.

Equipped with a new set of cams, exhaust and a system to cool the fuel, the blown V8 now produces an additional 23 HP that’s sent through the stock transmission and down to a clutch-type LSD. 0-to-60 times drop down to 3.6 seconds and the top speed has been increased to 209 mph.

A new carbon fiber front spoiler and rear diffuser, tuned by Brabus in the wind tunnel, reduces lift at speed, while the factory rolling stock has been ditched in favor of 9.5×20-inch wheels in front and 11.5×20-inch hoops in the rear. Inside, the Teutonic tuners offer well-to-do buyers nearly unlimited upholstery designs, along with a flat-bottom steering wheel with integrated paddles to swap cogs on the McMerc’s automatic gearbox.

The full rundown on Brabus’ tweaks can be viewed in the press release after the jump, and naturally, there’s a corresponding gallery below.

It pains us to see a dead horse beaten so rigorously, but the folks at Mercedes have yet to stop. But then, they did paid a lot for that horse.

The SLR project that then-Daimler-Benz undertook in partnership with its F1 racing partner, McLaren, never went as well as hoped. Sales were disappointing, and although the car’s performance put it into the upper echelons of autodom, it never succeeded at giving its competition a real run for their money. And at half a million bucks, it’s a lot of money to run for.

Rather than cut their loses, Mercedes and McLaren have opted instead to turn out additional derivations. After the “standard” SLR coupe came the 722, which was widely derided for having ruined the ride with little additional benefit. A racing version, dubbed 722 GT, followed. Rumors circulated long ago that additional body-styles were under consideration – what are they talking about, a shooting brake? – but only the open-air version made it to production.

The SLR McLaren Roadster was revealed back in May, but this was our first chance to see one up close. Check out the gallery below for all the angles.