The world of supercars is a crazy place these days. Models such as the Porsche 918 Spyder and Ferrari LaFerrari use hybrid power to generate insane amounts of output and Gary Busey-esque track times.
Back in the 2000s, a battery pack wasn’t known as a performance enhancement for a V12 or a racing-derived V10. It was that thing Toyota put in a Prius. Cars such as the Ferrari Enzo and Porsche Carrera GT were all engine in those days.
Others were, too, but they had a little extra. Take the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, for instance. It was a crazy vehicle, but it didn’t have a hybrid component. Instead, it used a supercharger to wring more power out of its 5.4-liter V8.
What made the SLR crazy was the fact that Mercedes-Benz joined forces with McLaren to create an exotic. Those two motorsports legends gave us the carbon fiber-bodied results of a supergroup, a rolling version of The Beatles combined with The Rolling Stones. Perhaps even nuttier is that they made a liveable hypercar.
Jay Leno knows that well. You’ll see that in the following video. He doesn’t have to worry about his well-traveled SLR scraping on driveways or bumps. Its 617-horsepower engine doesn’t leak after three years of Leno owning it. Out back, the trunk can fit a golf bag inside of it. For better or for worse, the SLR also has a five-speed automatic.
Try not to lose your mind when you hear Leno open up the SLR on the freeway in the clip below.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
