Swan Song: Mercedes-McLaren to Produce Final Car Together, SLR Speedster

As far as this decade has gone, it’s been pretty good for supercars. We’ve had the Ferrari Enzo, Maserati MC12, Porsche Carrera GT, and even the Bugatti Veyron. Mercedes-Benz and McLaren took part in the supercar race too, with the SLR. However, all good things must come to an end. A spokesperson from Mercedes-Benz confirmed that the German prestige automaker was breaking up with its engineering and race partner McLaren come the end of 2009, and that there will not be a renewal of the agreement.

But before Mercedes-Benz and McLaren go their separate ways, the two will make one more vehicle together, another spinoff of the SLR. Following the extra-high performance 722 model and the open-topped roadster, the brand will make a Speedster. The SLR Speedster was designed after the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut race car, and will feature no roof, no windscreen and new doors. In addition, the Speedster loses most of its creature comforts including air conditioning and sound deadening. As a result, this will be the fastest of the SLRs produced, weighing an estimated 440 lbs less than the regular coupe, making it capable of a top speed of 218 mph. Only 75 units of the car will be built.

If you’re a fan of speedy silver arrows, fear not as Mercedes-Benz is still interested in producing supercars. Instead of co-developing future vehicles with other manufacturers, however, it will opt to build its vehicles in-house via its other racing arm HWA. It has been said that a new mid-engined Mercedes-Benz supercar is currently under development, and that it will arrive sometime in 2010.