A Volcano Orange Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren HDK just rolled through London streets, turning heads and dropping jaws.
Only 12 will ever exist.
This isn’t your garden-variety SLR. The HDK (High Downforce Kit) transforms the already brutal grand tourer into something that looks ready to devour Le Mans.
Rare Beast With Racing DNA
The HDK package draws direct inspiration from the 722 GT prototype race car—a Gordon Murray project that never actually competed.
McLaren Special Operations (MSO) handles these conversions, grafting on a massive rear wing and aggressive diffuser that finally give the SLR the aero treatment it always deserved.
That Volcano Orange paint doesn’t whisper. It screams.
Engineering That Matters
The standard SLR McLaren already packs serious hardware:
- 5.4-liter supercharged V8 producing 617 hp and 575 lb-ft of torque
- Engine positioned 1 meter behind the front bumper and 50 cm behind the front axle for optimal weight distribution
- Dry sump lubrication for sustained high-G cornering
- Rear-wheel drive through a 5-speed automatic transmission
The SLR’s engine placement isn’t front-mid like most claim—it’s practically mid-engined, just with a very long nose.
From Maligned to Mythical
Critics originally panned the SLR for not being hardcore enough. Too Mercedes for the McLaren crowd, too McLaren for the Mercedes loyalists.
Time has been kind to the supercharged brute.
The 722S Roadster McLaren Edition pushed output to a reported 650 hp and dropped the 0-60 time to 3.6 seconds. Carbon fiber components and McLaren Orange brake calipers cemented its specialness.
Now the HDK takes the formula further.
The SLR has evolved from controversial grand tourer to coveted collector’s item. Spotting one with the HDK package in London is like seeing a unicorn doing burnouts on Oxford Street.
Twelve cars. Unlimited swagger.
McLaren and Mercedes’ complicated child has finally grown into the legend it was always meant to be.
