We reported previously that the McLaren Mercecdes partnership was in trouble because (amongst other things) Mercedes didn’t want an SLR replacement messing with its forthcoming gullwinged SLC (actual name may vary). Nicht wahr, says July’s print edition of Auto Motor und Sport. Mercedes doesn’t want to match the $115m the royal family of Bahrain paid for 30 percent of McLaren, and it’s getting petulant. According to AM und S, “a racing car for the streets doesn’t fit with Daimler’s corporate politics.” If Daimler lets McLaren build sports cars, there’ll be no Mercedes engine or star on the hood. This from the folks who brought us the CLK-GTR, AMG Black Series, Zonda engine, etc. Persistent rumors of a technical hook-up with Aston Martin may mean Mercedes has already made an exclusive deal for its best engines. But spurning McLaren for Aston (if that is what’s happening) doesn’t make much sense. The McLaren-Mercedes racing partnership is a halo exercise for Daimler, and a mid-engined McLaren (already in development) would add to that even without a Mercedes badge. Meanwhile, Aston is never going to start embossing “powered by AMG” into its fine Connolly leather. Besides, DB9s start at $170k, which is bound to be closer to the new SLC’s $150k target price than a mid-engined McLaren would be. Which might explain why renderings of the SLC in AM und S show it going all anti-retro despite the obvious gullwing heritage. So, is Aston going to become the “retro” Mercedes brand? Does McLaren need to find another royal family to buy its freedom from Daimler? Will the SLC still sound like “death on a stick” when it gets to market? As usual, there are more questions than answers.
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SLC? The Mercedes Salt Lake City? I guess that’s appropriate since it’s a gullwing. (Sorry, I guess that’s a joke only people familiar with Utah would appreciate.)
350Z front end, Crossfire sides and rear…Why?
Perception is a b****! Seriously this is sad. Oh well none of my fucking business (literally, sadly).
What I wanna see from Mercedes is something like a light weight C300 with a high revving V6. A more fun E-class with an Aston Martin interior. Also a $20k entry model C-class.
A much less expensive Aston sounds good. Also Mclaren influencing more affordable whips…Those things and unimaginably better things are possible. People have a lot of spiritual dis-ease though, and they thing prestige is the answer. I guess I’ll need to wait for them to go through hell and grow, and/or Hyundai to step up.
BTW. I saw some Korean soap operas and good ethics were a central part of the program. Although not all ethics were healthy.
As an S550 owner, I’d like to see Mercedes Benz stop competing in the sport class and make BETTER LUXURY CARS.
The best cars they have are the CLS and the S550.
everything else is either overpriced or overweight.
The C-classes are nice but compared to the BMW 3, leave a lot to be desired. The R class wagon is ugly, the GL is boring and the newer SLK and CLK cost too much for what they offer.
Mercedes Benz is gonna get seriously hurt by Lexus if they don’t stop screwing around.
A Merc V12 would be awesome in an Aston. They need to replace that 2 Ford duratec’s bolted together engine they are running now.
I got it Harvey (former UofU and SLC residence)…good one!
Mercedes needs to go back to what they used to do best. Concentrate on excellent roadsters, sedans, wagons, and a few consumer versions of their utility trucks.
It’s lost the cachet it once had, and a bit of that is that they’ve lost their engineering advantage they once had. I’ve watched it in the brief number of MBs my family has had (4 300/E-classes including an E50 AMG, and a 72 300SEL).
But they should always have a high-end sports car that is very limited production and blows most sports cars away in terms of performance while still offering unsurpassed luxury. Hey, maybe they should consider a diesel option…and then get back to Le Mans with it too.
Moving out of the business of building mega-dollar super cars is probably a good move by Mercedes. They need to concentrate on keeping their bread and butter products competitive.
An agreement with Aston could make sense – Aston gets access to AMG engines and Mercedes can get remedial lessons in how to make a car interior seem luxurious.
A different end of the food chain far, far from anywhere I’ll be inhabiting anytime soon.
In otherwords: meh…