January 1999. The North American International Auto Show in Detroit: Mercedes-Benz unveils its vision for the high-performance sports car of the future, billing it "Tomorrow's Silver Arrow". Just three letters are enough to show that this new car is going to be something extra-special: SLR.

By so doing, the Stuttgart-based carmaker is evoking memories of the legendary racing cars of the 1950s, and of the sensational victories in the Mille Miglia in Italy, the Tourist Trophy in Northern Ireland or in the Eifel Race on the Nürburgring. Many motor racing greats, including Sir Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling, sat at the wheel of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR and drove it to one victory after the next.

Mid-2003: the SLR project is reaching its conclusion. Some four years on from the launch of the show-car in Detroit, a new GT model is entering the home straight and finishing with a final flourish. In September 2003, it will go on show to the world.

The design, engineering and product planning teams have together developed a top-class car all-round; a sports car the like of which can only be created under the masterful guidance of the longest-standing car manufacturer in the world, working in close cooperation together with another vastly experienced and skilful partner from the world of motorsport.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow - that's the recipe that is the making of this new high-performance car. The design concept makes it plain for all to see: the SLR takes both elements from the 1955 SLR racing cars and typical features from the modern-day, championship-winning Silver Arrows from 1998, and blends them together with the avant-garde looks of the latest Mercedes passenger cars. With its highly successful and stimulating composition of styling details, Mercedes-Benz is already setting trends for future sports car design.

Race track breeding: distinctive twin-fin spoiler and arrow-shaped nose
It is the front end in particular which singles out the new Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren as a direct descendent of the racing cars which have been so successful in recent times: the centre is dominated by the distinguishing, arrow-shaped nose of the Silver Arrows Formula One car encompassing the Mercedes star at the front, an unmistakable hallmark of manufacturing origins that are steeped in tradition.

Underneath the nose can be found a further typical styling element taken from the Formula One race cars which took McLaren Mercedes to the World Championship crown in 1998 and 1999, and which have already secured a number of victories this season too: the twin-fin front spoiler. As with the Silver Arrows, these aerofoil fins are more than just a stylish identifying feature, they are actually crucial to the car's aerodynamics. The high contact pressure they produce at the front axle plays a key role in the new SLR's sure-footed, race-car-like roadholding.

The fin design was adopted as a recurring feature of the SLR's exterior, thereby maintaining a high level of design consistency: finned sections also separate the headlamps from the nose, form the base for the exterior mirrors and adorn the taillights on each side of the car, where the indicators' LEDs are housed in two self-supporting fins positioned one above the other.

Mercedes design breeding: twin-headlamp face forms identifying feature
Above the generously proportioned air intake for the engine cooling is the wide, flat bonnet, whose rear edge lies below the starting point of the A-pillars, permitting the deep-set design of the front windscreen. This is another typical element taken from the world of motorsport, which gives drivers the level of visibility needed for high-speed motoring.

The headlamp arrangement is a refreshingly new version of the highly familiar and equally successful twin-headlamp face, which has been the calling card of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars since 1995. In this SLR-style reinterpretation, although the dipped-beam and main-beam headlamps form a single unit, they nevertheless succeed in emphasising their basic, pronouncedly oval form. The design team has reinforced the powerful visual effect by sheathing the powerful projection headlamps in casings that resemble high-quality camera lenses, all housed behind clear glass.

As with all current Mercedes passenger cars, the oval lines of the twin-headlamp face form the starting points for modelling the bonnet and the wings. The rounded contours of the headlamps develop into powerful domed curves which quite deliberately evoke associations with the human anatomy: the curves extend back over the wings like the sinewy muscles of a trained athlete, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that this car bristles with the pure power of a sporting superstar.

These soft contours, which at the same time brim with power and dynamism, combine with taut lines to produce a fascinating, sculpted exterior form, a clear expression of the uncompromising manner in which this car's high-performance credentials have been honed. The sports car flexes its muscles visibly but without any hint of aggression, with each fibre of its lithe body trimmed and tensed, ready to launch forward at any time.

The domed curves leading off from the inner pair of headlamps sweep seamlessly all the way back to the A-pillars, forming a smooth visual link between the front end and the passenger compartment. As they run up the long bonnet, the softly rounded domes again transform into taut, clean-cut lines, which in turn mould the appearance of the A-pillars and the side profile. This is also one of the elements underpinning the characteristic, powerful proportioning of the SLR silhouette: the long bonnet, taut midriff, compact passenger compartment and short tail create a deliberate association between the flow of the SLR's lines and the styling elements of Mercedes sports cars from years gone by, and symbolise the sense of forwards surge that courses through the new SLR.

The SLR sports car exudes the same powerful, yet harmonious impression when seen from the rear too. This is down to the elegant way in which the lines flow from the passenger compartment into the lid of the boot, helped by the slender roof pillars which taper towards the bottom. Unlike the SLR Silver Arrows cars from the 1950s, whose tail curved gently downwards, the boot of the new SLR continues at the same high level in order to enhance the aerodynamic qualities.

Wind tunnel testing has shown that this leads to a clear reduction in lift and aerodynamic drag, maximising roadholding ability. The adaptive rear spoiler, which extends at high speeds and during braking when it doubles as an air brake, helps the car to achieve its exemplary aerodynamic poise, as does the six-channel diffuser integrated into the rear bumper.

The large taillights are an immediate eye-catcher. First, there is the distinctive, triangular form of the red-coloured lenses, a typical feature of Mercedes passenger cars, whose wrap-around design extends far into the side panelling to emphasise the width of the body. The sophisticated lighting technology, meanwhile, forms another high-profile feature: the rear light and brake light are made up of a total of 51 red LEDs, whose distribution over the entire surface of the taillights produces a particularly striking signalling effect. This is most true during braking, when the LEDs illuminate with twice the normal intensity.

SLR breeding: side gills and wide-opening gullwing doors
It is above all the side profile of the new sports car that identifies it as a car whose maker has a long and illustrious motor-racing tradition, with large, finned air openings breathing new life into the SLR legend. These "gills" are far more than a mere styling touch, serving now as they did back then to ventilate the engine compartment. The designers of the new SLR have lent further emphasis to this particular function by enlarging the surface of the fins towards the rear of the gills, and by placing a clean-cut line at the end of the fins, which then sweeps further backwards to add to the styling of the gullwing doors.

With its gullwing doors, the new Gran Turismo has inherited a further quite unmistakable feature from the road-going Coupé version of the legendary SLR racecar, which was designed in 1955 by Mercedes' head of testing at that time, Rudolf Uhlenhaut.

The new doors are not hinged at the roof as the original gullwing doors were; instead they are pivoted at the front roof pillars and swing forwards in a large arc. No less sensational than the gullwing design from the 1950s, this new concept also enlarges the entrance to the vehicle to make getting in and out easy for both driver and passenger.

Practicality and scintillating design - these overriding attributes apply in particular to the supercar's interior. The styling focuses wholly on the high-dynamism motoring experience. Removable padding modules allow the bucket seats to be "tailor-fitted", the three-spoke steering wheel comes with pushbuttons for slick manual gearshifts and the chronometer-style gauges tell drivers all they need to know at a glance.

The focal point of the interior is undoubtedly the centre console with its high-grade aluminium trim. A visual extension of the distinctively shaped Formula One domes on the bonnet, the centre console serves as the transition between exterior and interior, whilst also picking up the powerful lines of the front-end design before they flow backwards over the transmission tunnel to the tail of the SLR.

A stimulating interplay of different materials sets the tone for the interior ambience. Aluminium and carbon contrast with supple "Silver Arrow" leather, which was specially developed for the new sports car and sets peerless standards in terms of its quality and material thickness. A wide range of colours is available to choose from, including the same bold shade of red which set new trends back in the 1950s when it was featured in those legendary, unforgettable sports cars, the SL and the SLR.

The Car Enthusiast will be travelling to the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show. We look forward to bringing you back further images as well as first impressions of the car in the metal.

Mercedes-Benz news release - 10 Jul 2003