Fastest-Ever Mercedes Honours Moss and the Mille Miglia

Filed in archive Mercedes Benz , News , Racing on March 18, 2009

Sir Stirling Moss was once honoured as "the greatest driver never to become World's Champion." That may very well be true, for Moss could beat every F1 driver of his era, including the great Fangio. But bad luck let him down. I had the privilege of interviewing Moss for Canadian radio with my humble VW as a "studio." Where most current racers would have spurned such a request, Moss gracefully accepted. Therefore I'm delighted that Mercedes-Benz and McLaren are offering the SLR Stirling Moss as the end of the current SLR family. In the 1950s, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR racked up victory after victory, winning Mille Miglia, the Eifel race, Targa Florio, and the Tourist Trophy, piloted by some of the biggest stars in motorsport including Juan Manuel Fangio, Karl Kling and, above all Sir Stirling Moss, who still holds the Mille Miglia record of ten hours of seven minutes, 48 seconds.

The Mercedes-Benz SLR is a car of little practicality. It has no roof or side windows. All that protects the driver and front passenger from the wind are air deflectors measuring two centimeters in height. Two scoops integrated in the body serve as roll-over bars. "With the power to accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in less than 3.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 350 km/h, the puristic high-performance sports car brings a whole new dimension to open-top driving." Or so says Mercedes-Benz. The entire body of the SLR Stirling Moss is made from lightweight carbon fiber. Forget that only a few will be offered. Forget our new world where supercars have no place. The SLR blends yesterday with today. Sadly, it has no tomorrow.