Push in the recessed door handle and the SLR’s gullwing doors swing up and open silently on gas struts. The cabin feels like an old-school Mercedes – no bad thing – with its slightly too-large steering wheel, intuitive ergonomics and exacting build quality. But for a 200mph supercar, the cabin is devoid of the gadgets most buyers might expect. The pedal-operated parking brake is another old-fashioned feature, which – along with that long nose and limited rear visibility – makes smooth low speed driving and neat parking very tricky.

Flip open the SLR’s up-and-outward scissor doors and you’re greeted by a surprisingly snug two-seater cabin. For such a large car, the packaging is poor for taller and larger drivers. Once in, the one-piece carbon-fibre bucket seats are supremely comfortable with every-which-way electrical adjustment and the SLR’s cabin is relatively simple and straightforward.

It’s beautifully built from the finest leathers, carbon-fibre and plastics, but apart from a starter button on the gearlever, it’s low on luxuries. However, it’s superb ergonomically and on the go it’s refined and well insulated from road, tyre and wind noise, with only the engine’s rumbling exhaust note and supercharger whine invading the cabin during acceleration.