By LAWRENCE TAN
Before parting ways in 2009, Mercedes-Benz and McLaren have unveiled yet
another variant of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster 722, this time with
an ‘S’ added behind the name.
Essentially, it is a convertible version of the 722 with a semi-auto soft
top. It inherits the same supercharged 5.5-liter V8 engine from its fully
clothed cousin, but tweaked by the engineers from Mercedes’ AMG division to
output 641bhp from 617 bhp, and 605 lb ft of torque from 575. This propels the
722S from rest to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds, and top speed has been increased to
335 km/h.
The engineers from Affalterbach have also made the spring
and shock absorber configurations stiffer, and lowered the suspension by 10mm
front and rear to achieve greater handling stability of the car. The fully
carbon-fiber monocoque bar two aluminium frames stem from McLaren’s F1
expertise, and gives the 722S a torsional rigidity despite its lightweight.
The aluminium-reinforced soft top is semi-automated, which
means to close it, you would have to manually unlatch the roof at the
windscreen frame, give it a slight lift, and the electronics take care of the
rest in about ten seconds.
Only 150 editions of the 722S will be made, and first cars
are expected to roll out of McLaren’s F1 workshops in Woking, England come
January 1, 2009.
'Live' pictures of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster 722S at the Paris Motor Show
from Autoblog