If you keep a close eye on supercar and exotic car reviews, you’ll often notice an outlier. Take a look at Daily Sparkz inventory and you will see a trend. The McLaren Mercedes SLR sits in a strange place. Prices for clean coupes and roadsters still range from $270,000 to $900,000. In a world where most analog supercars from the 1990s and 2000s now fetch seven-figure values, these numbers should give you pause and consider why that is. For a 617hp carbon-bodied halo car developed with Gordon Murray, that’s hard to ignore.
The modern SLR story begins in the late 1990s, when Mercedes was an engine supplier and shareholder of the Formula 1 team McLaren. Built between 2003 and 2010 in Woking at the Norman-Foster-designed McLaren Technology Center in England, the SLR is not just a stylish Mercedes SL with butterfly doors. Murray, the same man behind the legendary McLaren F1, has pushed this project forward for years. He insisted that the engine be located behind the front axle, so technically the SLR has a front-center layout. The proportions you see, a long Formula 1-inspired nose acting as an intake, the cabin pushed back, side exhaust outlets, they are not for show. They exist because technology demands it.
The flat bottom and side tubes are tied to ground effect. Because the exhaust was routed externally, the airflow under the car remained clean and controlled, helping the SLR remain stable at high speeds. The drag coefficient is around 0.37, low for a front-engined supercar of this era, and an active rear air brake provides additional stability during braking and increases downforce when needed.
Under the hood, the SLR features a 5.4-liter M155 AMG V8, a heavily revised version of the M113 family, hand-assembled and force-fed by a twin-screw supercharger. Output is rated at 617 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque, which is still healthy by modern standards. 0 to 60 mph takes about 3.4 seconds, and the speed is 208 mph. The soundtrack mixes a throaty V8 burble with a clear mechanical whine. When you open the hood, it swings forward in a huge flap, providing full access to the engine compartment and carbon substructure. A layout borrowed directly from the mindset of endurance racing.
Here, Murray’s role changed everything. Mercedes originally presented a sleek concept, glamorous and sculptural, under design chief Gorden Wagener. Murray took this superficial idea and transformed it significantly. He worked on better packaging, changed the aerodynamics and called for a carbon tub. In fact, given the demand, new carbon layup methods had to be invented to achieve the volume. More than 500 tubs per year were unthinkable in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Curb weight is just under 3,900 pounds.
Then there is the legacy of the nameplate. The SLR emblem dates back to the 1955 300 SLR, a car that dominated events such as the Mille Miglia with Sir Stirling Moss at the wheel. Mercedes celebrated the 20th anniversary of the modern SLR in 2023 and recently caused quite a stir when it unveiled the various SLRs on the opening day of the 2025 1000 Miglia Experience in Dubai to celebrate the 70th anniversary of this historic record-breaking journey. In the early 2000s, Mercedes wanted to revive the sports lightweight racing heritage. Design details such as the functional side vents pay homage to the racing car of the 1950s. The result is a robust transcontinental GT car designed for high speeds, a point Clarkson proved in the Epic Race TopGear, where he took the SLR across northern Europe from London to Oslo, while Hammond and May resorted to planes and boats and ultimately lost to the Super-Merc.
Now to the general criticisms of the SLR, and there Are a couple. You’ll hear people describe the interior as nothing more than a souped-up SL, the over-assisted brake pedal feel from the carbon ceramic and five-speed automatic transmission. Fair arguments, and the broader media has been making these specific points for years. But special details such as the fold-up start button in fighter jet style and the carbon tub seats also remain highlights in the sporty cockpit. While the SLR is far from fragile compared to its contemporaries, the overdesign also has disadvantages in terms of maintenance and operating costs, as VinWiki learned during his time as an owner.
That being said, two decades later, there’s no denying that this hyper-GT still offers Presence with a capital “P.” The molded exhaust has a distinctive note, the V8 growl and supercharger whine give it a character that no one else quite has. Yes, when you say “exotic,” you often imagine a rear-mid-engined supercar with a short nose and an engine behind the head. The SLR still challenges this assumption for all the right reasons. So why is the SLR camera still undervalued? Because it never fits neatly into any particular category. It’s too fast to be a soft GT, too refined to be a track weapon like the Porsche Carrera GT. In short, the SLR takes up its own space.
Let’s put it this way: today’s collectors are rediscovering commitment. For example, manuals are enjoying great popularity again and often fetch premiums. You see this trend in the Carrera GT market, you see it in gated Murciélagos, and even modern GT3 Touring manuals show strong numbers. In an age where hybrid and electric vehicles are becoming more common, the market seems to reward purity more than ever. Yes, the SLR may not offer a stick shift, but what’s the point? does Offer is feeling and, more importantly, character. The torque delivery, balance and compressor surge provide a very analog connection.
History tends to reward cars that were misunderstood when new, and cars like the SLR, the original V10-powered Lexus LFA, which was also a top seller at the time, and the V12-powered R230 SL fit that narrative perfectly now more than ever. California real estate mogul and car collector Manny Khoshbin seems to understand this. He owns several SLR cameras in various versions, from the 722 to the Stirling Moss edition, including the extremely rare 1 of 12 HDK edition. Other famous people who previously owned an SLR camera include Paris Hilton, Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams and Kanye West.
When it comes to SLR production numbers, you’re looking at around 2,100 examples in total, including coupes, roadsters, MSO special models, 722 (300 produced) and Stirling Moss editions (only 75 made), with the last three fetching the highest premiums. There are approximately 1,270 examples of the Carrera GT in existence, and until 2020 you could easily get one for under $1 million; Now it’s trading around $1.4 million to $2 million or more. The Ferrari Enzo and Pagani Zonda are higher on the list, but the SLR is often half the price or less.
As for the SLR camera, the average selling price over the last five years is still around $485,000, which ironically corresponds to new value, but adjusted for inflation it is $770,000, making this model clearly undervalued. Given its presence, history and engineering background, the window for low-mileage examples to remain under seven figures is unlikely to remain open forever. One final point strengthens the argument: the most expensive car ever sold at auction; $143 million for a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 Uhlenhaut Coupé, which also bears the SLR nameplate.
Images: Mercedes-Benz, McLaren Automotive
