An Undervalued Supercar That's A Future Classic In The Making

Despite being a halo car for McLaren and Mercedes, find out why the SLR remains one of the most underappreciated supercars of its era

Mercedes & McLaren celebrated their F1 success with a Halo supercar

The SLR came to fruition in the light of two back-to-back F1 championship wins in the late 90s for McLaren Mercedes

The SLR combines British design and German engineering

With a long hood, butterfly doors, and a low-slung profile, the SLR took inspiration from the '50s SLR and the Vision SLR Concept

The Halo supercar benefited from tech that was derived from F1

It gets a carbon fiber monocoque chassis with a carbon fiber crash structure. Notice the nose that is reminiscent of an F1 car

Handbuilt in England, the SLR featured an AMG-derived engine

The SLR packs a 5.4-liter supercharged V8 that was rated at 617 hp and 575 lb-ft of torque. This all-aluminum block was handbuilt at Affalterbach

The SLR is a thorough-bred supercar, disguised as a luxury GT car

Despite only having a 5-speed automatic, independent tests revealed a 0 to 60 mph of 3.3 seconds while the top speed comes in hard at 207 mph

The cabin borrows a lot from the SL, with a few distinctive touches

The SLR's interior features some unique touches including the fighter-jet style engine starter button

Its supercharged V8 has a sound that is more American than European

Unlike the Porsche Carrera GT's V10 and Ferrari Enzo's V12, the SLR's V8 has that guttural American V8 sound

The SLR remains a relative bargain when compared to its contemporaries

Unlike the Carrera GT and the Enzo which now cost millions, the SLR McLaren still has an average price of $433,839

But the SLR still has the potential to go up in value

The SLR McLaren could be a highly sought-after classic with its F1-derived tech, distinctive design, and limited production numbers

Swipe up to read more about a collector who explains why he owns eight SLRs