Incredible though it might seem there are apparently some people who think that the 626bhp Mercedes McLaren SLR isn’t quite quick – or exclusive – enough. If you happen to be one of them, the good news is that the even more powerful 722 Edition has finally arrived. The bad news, however, is that it costs an extra £32,500. Limited to a run of only 150 models, the 722 is named after the Mercedes 300 SLR that British racing legend Stirling Moss and co-driver Dennis Jenkinson drove to victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia race from Brescia to Rome and back in Italy. The number actually refers to the time – 7.22am – that they started the grueling 1,000-mile challenge, which they completed at a record-breaking average speed of 100mph. With more power and less weight than the standard version, the SLR 722 has been sent to the gym and put on a carbon fiber diet to give a more aggressive, track-biased driving experience.
In addition, the steering has been sharpened, the suspension firmed up and the aerodynamics honed even further to increase its stability at high speed. Reprogramming the hand-built 5.5-litre supercharged V8 engine’s electronic black box has pushed output to 650bhp at 6,500rpm, and torque to 800Nm at 4,000rpm – that’s 24bhp and 40Nm more than a standard SLR. From a standstill, the 722 will hammer its way to 60mph in 3.6 seconds and hit a top speed of 210mph. The five-speed paddle shift automatic transmission and its gearing remain unchanged. To handle that power boost, the newcomer is fitted with huge 390mm carbon fiber-reinforced ceramic brake discs and lightweight alloy wheels.
This Mercedes is all about speed, and as you would expect, the SLR is ferociously fast. With all that torque on tap, it simply catapults past slower traffic with ease, with the big V8 power plant trumpeting its NASCAR soundtrack through its side-mounted exhausts.
