Drawing its inspiration from the legendary 300 SLR piloted by Juan Miguel Fangio and Stirling Moss in the 1950s was no easy task for Mercedes-Benz. The German automaker’s Silver Arrow racing cars were a competition scene fixture in the 1950s, but a tragic accident at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1955 curtailed the automaker’s motorsports efforts for decades.

Mercedes-Benz rekindled the original car’s spirit, drawing heavily from the German automaker’s relationship with Britain’s McLaren Formula 1 team. The SLR McLaren was previewed by an outlandish, long-nose touring car at the 1999 North American International Auto Show in Detroit before a production model hit the road nearly five years later.

The SLR McLaren featured race-bred technology in an attention-grabbing shape that looked like nothing else. Under its hood sits a 616-hp version of the supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 Mercedes-Benz’s AMG division shoehorned into cars such as the SL 55 and CL 55. For the SLR McLaren, the engine features dry-sump lubrication, a Lysholm-type twin-screw supercharger, and a pair of intercoolers. Since the SLR McLaren was designed around its V-8, engineers were able to place it more than three feet aft of the front bumper and nearly 20-in. behind the rear axle for better weight distribution. The V-8 sends power rearward via a beefed-up five-speed automatic transmission. Carbon ceramic brake discs and an innovative brake-by-wire system ensure rapid stopping, even considering the car’s touring-ready 3,900-lb. curb weight.

All that substantial engineering is easy to overlook at first glance given the SLR McLaren’s outlandish design. Its proportions belie its 183-in. overall length and 110-in. wheelbase thanks to a very long hood and a short trunk. Gullwing doors ensure a dramatic entry—and they are, of course, a nod to its predecessor.

McLaren might have honed the SLR’s performance, but Mercedes-Benz took care of its interior. Fine leather covers every surface of its dashboard, doors, center console, and seats. Switchgear is arranged with typical Teutonic order and the head unit for the Bose audio system tucks behind an SLR-badged lid in the center stack. Many owners opted for two-tone interior trim, including the original owner of the 2006 SLR McLaren offered here. Its Crystal Laurite Silver metallic paint echoes Mercedes-Benz’s racing cars from their Golden Era. The shade was popular on the SLR McLaren, and with good reason for the way it complements the Gorden Wagener-penned lines. The luxurious interior is trimmed in Berry Red semi-aniline leather.

This car was delivered new to Bob Ross Mercedes-Benz near Dayton, Ohio, making it one of just 189 earmarked for the American market in 2005. Service records from the selling dealer indicate meticulous care. With about 5,400 miles on its odometer, this SLR McLaren is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner.