Of all the crazy supercars in Big Dog Garage, Jay has put more miles on his Mercedes SLR than any other. That's because Mercedes wanted to blend the best of McLaren engineering with its own reputation for safety, comfort and reliability to create their own sort of hybrid - the fastest automatic transmission car in the world, that's also comfortable for getting around town.

Inspired by the classical styling elements of the legendary 1950s-era 300SLR roadster and Uhlenhaut Coupe, Mercedes wanted to create a GT that incorporated the cutting edge design of Team McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 cars, inside and out. Its body, front crash structure and passenger cell are made entirely from carbon fiber composite, giving the car a 50% weight advantage over steel, with greatly increased energy absorption. Although most supercars feature a rear-mounted engine, designer Gordon Murray opted to place the SLR's engine under the hood just behind the front axle, for optimum weight distribution. Hand built, the AMG supercharged 5439cc V8 delivers 626 hp, allowing for a top speed of around 207 mph. The SLR hits zero to 60 in 3.8 seconds, passing 200 after 10.6 seconds!

A five-speed "manumatic" transmission allows the driver to shift manually if desired, and the AMG Speedshift R offers three manual driving modes: Sport, Supersport and Race. Mercedes' Electronic Stability Program helps drivers handle the cars immense power by constantly monitoring and adjusting torque.

Before the car was released, Mercedes invited Jay and other early purchasers to test drive the SLR at their facility at Idiada, in Spain. After two days of pounding by professionals and amateurs, the SLR just would not break. Jay pulled into the pit to find that his brakes were on fire, but was assured by an engineer that everything was alright. All he had to do was start driving again to put the fire out!