Few partnerships in the automotive world have been more fruitful than that of Mercedes-Benz and McLaren. Mercedes-Benz started supplying engines to McLaren for Formula 1 in the mid-1990s, and over the course of the following two decades, McLaren racked up numerous victories. The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren emerged after the partnership deepened in 2000, when Daimler AG acquired 40 percent of the McLaren Group (which it later divested after the two companies eventually parted ways). The SLR was introduced in November 2003, a time when the Ferrari Enzo was set to do battle with the Porsche Carrera GT. Given McLaren’s aspirations to manufacture road cars of its own, the SLR would end up being the two companies’ first and only road car together, which only serves to heighten its mystique.

Instead of creating an uncompromising, punishing supercar, Mercedes-Benz and McLaren pursued a different route. Eschewing the rear-mid-engine formula, they devised a front-mid-engine layout; this not only allowed near-perfect weight distribution, but also gave the car a more spacious cabin and trunk, making it more practical and usable than its competitors. It also created dazzling proportions, with a long, sculpted hood and an impressive dash-to-axle ratio, necessary to accommodate the Mercedes-built 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 nestled entirely behind the front axle. Its output of 617 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque, and the commensurate performance envelope, necessitated the standard fitment of ceramic composite brake discs; this is exotic technology even today, and was all the more impressive in the mid-2000s.

Supremely engineered and manufactured to incredible standards at McLaren’s facilities in Woking, United Kingdom, the SLR boasted superlative performance, luxury, and comfort in equal measure, making it the ultimate mix of supercar and grand tourer. And with its eye-catching “butterfly” doors, its spectacle persists even when parked.

This 2006 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was specially ordered new by the late collector Gerhard Schnuerer. Schnuerer was known for his stewardship of significant Benz and Mercedes-Benz models, from the marque’s very earliest days to its thrilling high-performance sports cars; it is only natural that an example of this exclusive model would have found a place in his collection. As the accompanying window sticker illustrates, Schnuerer selectively chose options for the already well-equipped Crystal Coronadite Grey metallic car, with notable extras including floor mats with leather edging, SLR embossing, and the striking Silver Arrow 300 SL Red Leather interior (itself a $9,900 feature). All told, the overall retail price for his SLR McLaren was an impressive $466,460.

Schnuerer drove the SLR McLaren only sparingly but maintained it scrupulously, as invoices on file spanning 2006–2014 document; no stranger to shows, he exhibited it at the 2010 Dana Point Concours d’Elegance. He would retain the car until his death, and in 2020 it was acquired by The Rey Collection—only its second owner from new. Additional mileage accrued has been minimal, and as a result, this remarkably well-preserved car displays just 3,396 miles at the time of cataloguing. It is now offered with a Mercedes-Benz Certificate of Origin, window sticker, and service invoices.

Including both coupe and roadster variants, a mere 2,157 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLarens were sold worldwide, and ownership of any one of these magnificent machines—let alone one as well-preserved as this example—affords one membership into an exclusive club indeed. As this coupe’s first owner clearly recognized, the SLR McLaren represented a significant piece of Mercedes-Benz history; more than that, it offered a supercar experience unique among its peers, and still provides a high-performance thrill nearly two decades after its introduction.