SLR

In 1997, a few days before Christmas, without warning, we received an invitation to go to the Sindelfingen Style Center for a business meeting.
The breefing was presented by the director Bruno Sacco and assisted by Peter Pfeiffer and was exciting beyond all expectations. The proposed goal was to create a Supercar to celebrate their current Formula 1 collaboration with Maclaren, the MP 4\13.

Bruno Sacco director of the Mercedes Benz Style Center.Peter Pfeiffer Deputy Director of the Mercedes Benz Style Center.

This was the period in which the Silver Maclaren mercedes offered a real challenge to Ferrari, in partucular with Mika Hakkinen at the wheel, so much so that they would take the world championship, beating Schumacher's Ferrari, just before the prototype was finished.
We were told that the name would be SLR, in memory of the legendary "Silver Arrows", the formula 1 heritage was clearly seen in the front of the scale model. In the meetings, Maclaren were never mentioned, it was always described as a Mercedes with an AMG engine.

1998 Mercedes returns to win the F1 world championship with the MP4 / 13 driven by Mika Hakkinen.1998 Mercedes returns to win the F1 world championship with the MP4 / 13 driven by Mika Hakkinen.

Mercedes' commitment was to have the 1/1 clay styling model with a motorized chassis in Turin by 2nd May.
After creating the Maybach, one of the most luxurious cars ever made, we now had the opportunity to build another prototype for Mercedes, an  heir to the magnificent SLR, it is hard to describe the satisfaction that that gave.
Everything was planned, our team was ready, and on May 5th 1998 the model and chassis arrived by truck.
An hour later,the meeting to start work with the whole Stola Team was announced by Messrs Pfeiffer, Gorden Wagener and Jurgen Weissinger.
Now I would like to tell a particular story that may seem hard to believe, but having experienced it in person with my colleagues, and many years have passed, I feel I can tell it.
Before reaching the reserved area where the styling model and chassis of the SLR had just been positioned, the Mercedes Team saw our STOLA Abarth Monotype at the end of the corridor, recently returned from the Turin Motor Show, with both doors open.

The Stola Abarth Monotipo Show Car presented at the Turin Motor Show in April 1998.

Mr. Pfeiffer in reaching the restricted area was very taken by the doors of the open Monotype, which had been parked between a Lamborghini Countach and an Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale.
The SLR clay model had been designed and engineered to have conventional opening doors.
Instinctively, Mr Pfeiffer asks if the doors of their newly arrived model could be opened as the STOLA Monotype, and if possible what would the extra cost be?
Stola technicians, Felice Chiara, Vittorio Della Rocca and Lucio Giarolo were immediately tasked with the analysis, and after some empirical evaluation with the appropriate drawings it was communicated that it would be possible, without cost or time slip.
From that precise moment in time, the doors of the SLR would have had the same openings of the STOLA ABARTH MONOTIPO.
It would be 8 months of intense but rewarding work, in perfect integration with the Mercedes technicians residing in Turin.

Gorden Wagener and Steffen Kohl are the designers who designed the Mercedes SLR in 1998.Steffen Kohl and Gorden Wagener are the designers who designed the Mercedes SLR in 1998.

One of the first drawings of the Mercedes SLR which, together with the scale model, is shown to the Stola by the Directors Bruno Sacco and Peter Pfeiffer.One of the first drawings of the Mercedes SLR which, together with the scale model, is shown to the Stola by the Directors Bruno Sacco and Peter Pfeiffer.

The designers directly involved for the SLR prototype were the young Gorden Wagener and Steffen Khoel, who together, not only designed the model but would oversee construction throughout the process, pushing us to goals of quality and more and more ambitious details.
For this project, for the first time in our history we also built the aluminum rims within our production structure.

1998 Rivoli via Ferrero 9. The SLR Roadster in paint shop on the second floor of the prototype department.

December 1998. From left Stefano Santolin, Vincenzo Angelini, Gunter Holzel and Maurizio Di Maria.

December 1998 Rivoli. Franco Gavina of Salt in a moment of pause.

December 1998 Rivoli. A few hours before loading the prototype of the Vision SLR on the truck destined for Frankfurt airport for delivery in Detroit. From the left we recognize Maurizio Di Maria, Gunter Holzel, Vincenzo Angelini, Franco Gavina, Giuseppe Gammicchia and Franz Leker.

Spitaleri, Sasso, Comollo and V. Angelini can be
recognized.Big game in a souvenir photo with the Vision SLR.

December 1998 Rivoli. A souvenir photo a few minutes before the start of the SLR. Franz Lecher, Gunter Holzel, Franco Gavina and Alfredo Stola.

24 December 1998 Rivoli. Part of the Stola team rests while the prototype is loaded onto the elevator. Santolin, Bonetto, Buttiglieri, Angelo and XA sheet written by A. Stola placed in the department where he indicates December 24 as the last delivery date together with three technical notes.

December 24, 1998. G. Holzel, A. Sasso, F. Chiara, Angelo, Y and S. Sassu.December 24 Salvatore Sassu in a souvenir photo a few seconds before the departure of the Vision SLR.

December 24 Rivoli Felice Chiara drives the SLR to the transport lift to do the photo shoot. Behind the SLR a part of the team. From the left we recognize Leker, X, Y, A. Stola, Gammicchia, Holzel; bonetto, Buttiglieri, Spitaleri, Z, W, Santolin, Sassu, Erminio, Maurizio Di Maria, Cena, Vincenzo Angelini.

December 27, 1998 Mercedes Vision SLR Coupè at the photographic studio in Turin before leaving for Detroit.

Like all the Mercedes show prototypes, everything but everything is absolutely functional and working, this is a characteristic that few car manufacturers claim in this very first phase of a project.
Presented at the Detroit Motor Show in the early days of January 1999, as always in the presence of Mercedes top management, the interest of journalists was positive far beyond expectation.

January 1999 Detroit. COBO is the name of the building that hosts the events in the city of Detroit.Here is the first moment of the presentation of the SLR.

January 199 Detroit 1998 The moment of the presentation of the Mercedes SLR to journalists and professionals.January 199 Detroit 1998 The moment of the presentation of the Mercedes SLR to journalists and professionals.

January 1999 Detroit. Alfredo and Roberto Stola together with Gioachino Grande a few minutes after the presentation.

On the second day of the Detroit Show, in a meeting in the lounge of the Mercedes stand, Bruno Sacco and Peter Pfeiffer tell us that for the Frankfurt Motor Show, in 8 months we will have to build a new roadster version of the SLR.

1999 Detroit. In the Mercedes lounge. B. Sacco, R. Stola, F. Stola, MP. Stola, M. Kramer, H. Leschke, P. Pfeiffer and G. Holzel.

November 1998, Gorden Wagener's drawing of the SLR.

 

In February 1999 we received a new clay model and roadster chassis from Sindelfingen, of course the doors still had exactly the concept as the Stola Abarth Monotype.

 

The working teams remained the same, and at the beginning of September Jurgen Hubert presented the SLR roadster, announcing that both versions would be put into production, starting with the coupe, at the MacLaren factory in England. 

Sindelfingen November 1998 Steffen Kohl working on the design of the SLR Roadster.

July 1999 Rivoli. The assembly phases of the Mercedes Vision SLR Roadster. On the left Alfredo and Francesco Stola and Gordon Wagener. Right on the ground Klaus Busse.

August 1999 Rivoli. A few minutes before the Vision SLR Roadster is transported to the Frankfurt Motor Show. A part of the Stola team poses for a souvenir photo.

September 1999 Carrara. Official photo of the Mercedes Vision SLR Roadster before its presentation at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

The SLR daughter was certainly the 2004 SLK called the R 171 with the unmistakable hood with the DNA of the great SLR supercar.

September 1999 Massa Carrara. A few days before the presentation of the SLR Roadster, Mercedes organizes an unforgettable photo shoot in a marble quarry in Carrara, with the three SLRs. These three masterpieces will be presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show.