As you know the SLR Roadster will be the final collaboration between Mercedes and McLaren. And today Mercedes confirmed it: "The partnership ends in 2009 and it will not be renewed."

The SLR will be replaced by a new flagship premium roadster called the SLC that will debut in 2010 and will be built Mercedes' in-house performance unit AMG at the automaker's Sindelfingen plant, near Stuttgart, Germany.

Couchman said the SLR's high price limited sales. The car starts at 452,200 euros in Germany. Mercedes has sold 1,577 SLRs worldwide since the car's launch in 2003, according to Global Insight.

The car has also suffered from technical problems. The SLR was one of the models affected in a recall of 680,000 Mercedes cars in 2004, after the electronic braking system failed on some vehicles.

In 2006, Mercedes-Benz USA recalled 433 SLRs that had developed overheating problems.

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