25 May 05
We stop for the night just outside Bolzano, the Italian Dolomites providing an appropriately grand backdrop to our Wagnerian motor. Michael Scheer, the DaimlerChrysler engineer who worked opposite McLaren's Gordon Murray throughout the development of the SLR, joins us for dinner. Even now, it is plain that the relationship between the two was difficult and that's putting it as politely as possible. "There was, of course, a culture clash between this small British outfit [McLaren] and a big, volume producing organisation like DC," says Scheer. "And here's this South African guy [Murray] with this huge ego, well, yes it was hard."
And one of their most bitter battles was over where to put the engine. Murray wanted a mid-mounted set-up for the SLR, as is the way with all of the most successful supercars, including his McLaren F1. DaimlerChrysler wanted the SLR to be a true GT car and as Scheer says "in a GT car, the engine should be up front." Murray lost, although he has been a staunch defender of the SLR.
Well he might. With morning comes a perfect blue sky, dry roads and the contemplation of that savage engine, a devastating tool whether in front of or behind you. Now let loose on the winding roads that will take us down to the flat plains running to Brescia. On these roads, the SLR feels a large and intimidating car, with steering that isn't as intimate and communicative as the best. The carbon-ceramic brakes, while bloody effective at stopping you, have awful feel, which makes it difficult to brake progressively. The grip on offer is pretty phenomenal, but any thought of powersliding the car on public roads is quickly abandoned. For all its prodigious performance, the SLR isn't that far off a Bentley Continental GT when it comes to wheelbase and width.
