Recently, the nearly eighty-year-old Moss returned to Brescia, Italy, the site of his great racing triumph, to sample the last-of-the-line SLR. Asked to give his opinion of the new supercar that bears his signature, Sir Stirling was extremely candid: "I'm afraid modern cars don't do much for me," he said. "I have seen the SLR once before, but I never tried one. Quite frankly, I am not that interested, either. You see, I don't like driving on the road anymore. Too much traffic, too many people who don't know what they are doing. That's why the only car I own is the vintage OSCA that I still race occasionally. When a transportation need arises, I call a taxi or ask [my wife] Susie to chauffeur me in herSmart."
But Moss seemed to warm up to the 2009 SLR. "It is brash and very aggressive," he allowed. "You certainly don't notice any lack of power or torque," he conceded after his test drive. "I suppose one needs all those horses to compensate for the weight penalty, which is a typical vice of modern cars. It certainly also feels very safe - strong roadholding, sticky tires, good chassis, awesome brakes. But it is loaded with electronics, and some engineering details look quite complex, so I am curious what the reliability is like in everyday use."
Moss needn't worry. The 641-hp, 200-plus-mph hyperexotic SLR isn't likely to see much everyday use. It has only a token windshield, no top, and a sticker price of €750,000 (a little more than $1 million). All seventy-five examples - which were made available only to current SLR owners - have been snapped up, presumably by serious collectors.
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