Introduced to us in coupe form a few weeks ago at the 2008 Paris Auto Show, our tortuous wait for a peek at the Roadster 722 S is finally over. Beneficently feeding our gnawing hunger for all things McLaren related, Mercedes took mercy on our tormented souls this week and released official production photos of the new Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster 722 S. Featuring the same 650-hp supercharged 5.5L V8 as the McLaren 722 S Coupe, both 722 Series McLaren’s are intended to serve as limited edition, exponentially more powerful, siblings to the current Mercedes SLR McLaren. Tagged “722″ in honor of Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkins’ 1955 Mille Miglia victory and the race’s 7:22am start time, both the 722 S Coupe and the Roadster 722 S are perfect examples of absolutely flawless design and superior engineering.

What’s more, Mercedes did a surprisingly impressive job of engineering the Roadster to communicate power and prestige without the slightly effeminate element usually found in most performance roadsters (No, I’m really not willing to entertain any opposing arguments on this one – it is completely posssible to absolutely thrash the throttle on a 650-horsepower sports car, and still look like a total fruit.)

Check out the gallery after the jump

Source: Autoblog