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Rating

Verdict The supercar for everyday driving

When I lined up a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and a Porsche Carrera GT at one end of an enormous runway and let them fly, no one could quite believe their eyes – or their ears. Even as I slammed the Porsche into fifth at 150mph, the two cars were still absolutely neck and neck, and there they stayed until we crossed the line doing 180. In 15 years of road testing, I’ve never known two cars do so much so similarly.

A little background. When McLaren was designing the SLR it tried to make it as powerful and as light as was technically possible. Then along came Mercedes who insisted that the car should be usable every day. So, to the McLaren engineers’ intense annoyance, on went all sorts of stuff like carpet in the boot and electronic safety devices.

So as an everyday car, the big, comfy, well-equipped Mercedes wins. Apart from its feel-less brakes, it’s so easy to drive and so undemanding. The Porsche, on the other hand, isn’t even easy to get off the line. You stall, one time in five.

I think I’d rather buy the Porsche, though, partly because it’s slightly better-looking, but mostly because I think the Carrera is a superior piece of engineering.

Current price £317,700

Price when tested (Sep 2004) £313,465 5439cc, eight cylinders

Engine 626bhp @ 6500rpm

Torque 575 lb ft @ 3250rpm

Transmission Five-speed automatic

Fuel 14.8mph (combined) / 348g/km

0-62mph 3.8sec

Top speed 208mph