An Ecstatic Overdose of Wealth and Taste
As the sleek, powerful Mercedes SLR Roadster nosed its way through bumper-to-bumper traffic on Sunset Boulevard like a tuxedoed commando at a cocktail party, a small but telling incident provided a crystal-clear demonstration of what this car is really all about.
As the 617-horsepower, 202-mph, carbon-fiber supercar with gull-wing doors and a price tag only slightly south of $500,000 idled down the road at 20 mph past a sidewalk café in front of which were parked, nose-to-tail, a silver Bentley Continental, a red Ferrari F430 and an orange Lamborghini Murcielago, every head in the place turned and three young men – presumably the owners of the aforementioned parked cars – stood. A plaintive voice, presumably belonging to the owner of the Lamborghini, cut through the din of traffic – “Aw, man….”
Which pretty much says it about the SLR. Mechanical, performance, styling and heritage credentials aside – and it has plenty -- anywhere it goes, it’s the coolest ride, the magically potent silver arrow that makes the owners of other megabuck supercars instantly green with envy, the vanishingly rare kinetic commodity that proclaims (with all due Sympathy for the Devil)… “I’m a man of wealth and taste.”
