Here are nine Noughties supercars the Merc-McLaren SLR went up against

Top Gear Track Lap Time:
SLR – 1:20.9
Enzo –  1:19.0

The Enzo arrived before the SLR, and went about things... rather differently. Natural aspiration, mid-engined layout, an automated manual gearbox and a fighting weight some 300kg lighter than the McMerc made it a bona fide sports car compared to the super-GT nature of the SLR. Then again, you had to be personally invited to buy one by Ferrari, so somehow the SLR was easier to get...

Top Gear Track Lap Time:
SLR – 1:20.9
Carrera GT – 1:19.8

While the SLR invoked famous race cars of the past, the Carrera GT pretty much was a race car. The 5.7-litre V10 was designed to go racing but never made it due to various reasons. But then Porsche (just barely) tamed it for the street, bolted it to a carbon-fibre subframe and bolted that to a carbon-fibre chassis, making an all-out analogue supercar that was even lighter than the Enzo, let alone the heffalump SLR.

Add in a sweet six-speed manual and you had... well, something that could still manage 0-100mph in 6.8 seconds – and shatter egos about twice as quickly.

Top Gear Track Lap Time:
SLR – 1:20.9
Zonda – 1:23.9 (damp)
Zonda F – 1:18.4 (dry)

By the time the SLR came out, Pagani was already up to the third version of the incredible Zonda – this time with a 7.3-litre Mercedes V12 and a noise reminiscent of a climaxing Messerschmidt. Yet somehow, even with all that engine – and the full Pagani interior pageantry – on board, it’s at least 100 kilos lighter again than the Carrera GT, let alone the SLR. Does anyone know the Italian version of ‘Hey, Fattie Bum-Bum’?

Top Gear Track Lap Time:
SLR – 1:20.9
CC8S – 1:23.9

But of course, the early 2000s didn’t just signal the arrival of one upstart supercar manufacturer, did it? Yes, it’s Christian von Koenigsegg and his eponymously named, exactingly built and explosively fast Swedish supercars. The CC8S arrived in the same year as the SLR, and would have rather stolen its thunder but for the big names that made the SLR and the then-small (yet quite long, even before Jeremy tried to spell it) name behind the CC8S.

Top Gear Track Lap Time:
SLR – 1:20.9
F430 – 1:22.9

Looking back on it, the F430 felt like the sports car of the moment back in the early 2000s. And yet it didn’t come out until 2004, a full year into the SLR’s production run. But it was such a game-changing machine – a Ferrari you didn’t buy for the badge, the heritage or the self-satisfaction, but because it was just about the best sports car you could buy.

Thinking on it now, it feels in a different league to the SLR. And in cross-continental touring ability – not to mention price – that’s probably accurate. But take one step away from the motorway and we’d bet actual money that the tables would turn in favour of the ‘entry level’ Ferrari.

Top Gear Track Lap Time:
SLR – 1:20.9
Conti GT – 1:24.9 (in Supersport spec)

But what about more of a fair fight for the SLR – a big, heavy, luxurious and yet entirely rapid grand tourer?

It might sound pretty niche these days, but 20 years ago, the idea of the big GT car was actually still a... well, big thing – both the SLR and the Conti GT launched in 2003, flanked by new Aston and Ferrari GTs.  

Finally, we come to a car that’s fatter than the SLR – and not by a little, either, considering it’s a 2.4-tonne proposition – but also one that’ll hit 200mph and sit comfortably at a decent fraction of that for as long (or as little) as the fuel supplies last.  

Top Gear Track Lap Time:
SLR – 1:20.9
DB9 – 1:27.1

But if we’re talking about big British GTs...

Like we said, the early years of the new millennium were a wellspring of grand tourers, but perhaps none had the widespread impact of the DB9. Where car people would speak in hushed tones about the SLR, it seemed the entire population knew about the DB9 – if not by name, then by looks.

Then again, show us a design from this century that’s been so right for its time, and yet so timeless that redesigns – and even new models – still crib from the same style sheet.

Top Gear Track Lap Time:
SLR – 1:20.9
Gallardo – 1:25.8 (wet)
Gallardo Superleggera – 1:20.8 (dry)

It’s worth remembering where Lambo was back in 2003. Audi (i.e. Volkswagen) had bought Lamborghini a few years back after decades of turmoil at Sant’Agata, and it had only just replaced the then-ancient and, er... ‘decidedly old-school’ Diablo with the Murcielago. So, the fourth new owner in 14 years, a single car for sale and some pretty shaky ground to find its feet on.

So to bring out the Gallardo – the only entry-level Lamborghini that’s ever been a sales success in the company’s history – is an achievement. For the Gallardo to become the best-selling Lambo ever and a genuine competitor for Ferrari’s mid-engined supercar? Mind-blowing.

As for comparisons with the SLR... well, the Lambo was easier to buy, easier to live with (thanks to a big hit of Audi sensibility) and easier to drive at the limit thanks to all-wheel-drive, regular brakes and none of the twitchiness the big SLR could demonstrate. Savagely.

Top Gear Track Lap Time:
SLR – 1:20.9
GT – 1:21.9

But we can’t talk about 200mph+ supercars, with supercharged V8s, from early-2000s, that reference old racing success without... well, considering just how narrow a niche that actually is. And marvelling that we got two at once.

Well, ‘we’ is a bit of a stretch. While production numbers climbed above 4,000 – compared to about a tenth of that with the Enzo – the GT was still never what you’d call ‘common’. In fact, it’s only about twice as many as the SLR and less than a third as many as the Gallardo – even though it cost about the same as the baby Lambo. At the time, of course...