Photo: TBFTFW via duPont Registry / NBA on YouTube / edited
The basketball player most of us associate with the Chicago Bulls (and vice versa) has quite the car collection that changes almost constantly. A handful of those incredibly expensive automobiles were briefly shown in The Last Dance, but alas, the 10-part documentary about Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls didn’t feature the supercharged V8 thriller we just encountered.
Here is this 1 of 150 SLR McLaren 722 Edition, a 2007 model with just 15,148 miles (24,378 kilometers) on the odometer at the time of reporting. Listed for sale by TBFTFW, chassis number 001323 is a 2007 model purchased new by Jordan in 2007.
Finished in Crystal Antimony Grey, the car originally came with black wheels. Now fitted with Anrky brushed wheels, the German tourer was listed for sale with just over 1,000 miles on the odometer in January 2021 with a buy-it-now price of 695,750 buckaroos. This would equate to approximately $807,000 adjusted for inflation.
The 722 retailed for $480,000, or about $728,000 in 2024 dollars. However, the selling dealer is asking $649,995 via duPont Registry for WDDAJ76F77M001323. Despite starting with a W for what was once West Germany, all versions of the SLR McLaren were built in the UK at the McLaren Technology Centre.
Besides its provenance, low mileage, rarity, and surprisingly low asking price, this guy is also special because of the men who designed the SLR. First, enter the one and only Gordon Murray. The other person is Gorden Wagener, who heads up design at Mercedes-Benz, the AMG the go-faster division and the luxury division Maybach since 2008.
Photo: TBFTFW via duPont Registry
We should also remember that the 722 Edition stands for more power, improved aerodynamics, better handling and a more pleasant interior. With the 722 Edition, the three-pointed star from Stuttgart also paid homage to the number worn by the 300 SLR, winner of the 1955 Mille Miglia. The record of 10 hours and 7 minutes set by Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson continues to stand, partly because the original incarnation of the Mille Miglia ceased to exist after the particularly deadly race in 1957.
Compared to the naturally aspirated eight-cylinder 300 SLR, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 Edition features a supercharged V8 with a whopping 641 horsepower on tap. Peak torque is rated at 605 pound-feet (820 Nm), which is 15 more than the McLaren 750S produces with its twin-turbo V8.
Plus, it uses a torque converter automatic transmission instead of a good old manual or quickshifter. DCTwhich is natural for a car developed two decades ago. Let's not forget, Volkswagen launched its first DSG, the DQ250, in 2003 with the Golf R32.
Mercedes replaced the SLR McLaren with the SLS AMG in 2010, and the SLS AMG's indirect successor is the first-generation AMG GT. Merc's current flagship performance car is the F1 turbo V6 hybrid power unit-engined ONE, a completely different beast to Jordan's previously owned 722.