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The SLRs were quicker because they're designed to be easier to drive: an ultimate GT, not a racetrack fugitive. It has the full gamut of ABS anti-lock brakes, ESP (electronic stability program) and Brake Assist because it's a Mercedes. (It's a German car, project director Christian Fruh contends, even though it's built in Britain and partly designed here.) But there's nothing trick about the steering, which has normal hydraulic power assistance with no Servotronic control, nor the double-wishbone suspension which has regular Bilstein gas dampers and no rear anti-roll bar. Easy, transparent, predictable reactions were the aim.
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I'm in the seat. The door needs a hard pull to latch it shut, but production cars will have easier, soft-touch closing. A machined aluminium seat pictogram moves my leather bucket with its air-conditioned seatback vents; I can adjust reach, height and tilt but the backrest is fixed. Tall people may lack head- and legroom in this cosy cabin, which is a surprising failing.
All the soft trim apart from the seats is swathed in a brushed nylon camouflage, but enough is escaping to show shiny carbonfibre, more leather and Bose speakers beneath. I flip up a cover on the gear selector and press the start button. The V8 erupts into cultured but malevolent life, blipping instantly to the accelerator and eager to burst out of its cage. A rotary knob on the facia will allow me to choose between auto comfort, auto sport and manual gearshift modes; another selects one of three manual shift speeds, progressively trading smoothness for acceleration. That's AMG's Speedshift R.
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