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Top Down Conversation at 120HP
While neither VehicleVoice nor AutoPacific of course cannot recommend such speeds on the public highways that crisscross our nation, Mercedes-Benz promises that conversation will still be possible at speeds up to 120HP while in their new-for-2008 roadster version of the screamin’-fast 617HP SLR McLaren. Feast your eyes on the first released photos of this monster.

The SLR roadster’s construction is nearly all carbon fiber, just like the coupe, which should help make for a strong, safe, and solid roadster, even at the 207MPH the vehicle is capable of. A retractable top complements the attributes the coupe had already sported, including its Formula 1 Silver Arrow-inspired styling, the 617HP engine, and aluminum engine frames. This is a semi-automatic top, which impressively closes or opens in less than ten seconds, is made of a new material, and will be offered in three colors. (It is semi-automatic in that there is a header latch that needs to be released before the electric motor kicks in and pulls the top the rest of the way.) Safety and structure are also beefed up with steel-reinforced A-pillars and two fixed rollover bars. Like the coupe, the roadster gets the AMG 617HP 5.5L V8 mated to a five-speed automatic with standard steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifts.