I was on the press launch for the Mercedes-Benz McLarne SLR in 2003, and they told us they would make 500 a year for 7 years. The car was quite disappointing and I knew as soon as I heard it the production run would never last 7 years. It wasn't competitive in year 1, so how could they sell 3,500 over 7 years?
Well, they actually kept production going for 7 years, but only sold 1,400, and let's just say they haven't had the same price appreciation curve as the GT.
All that said, the GT will be different in several ways:
1. It will actually be competitive, if not pace setting, when it launches (yes, I'm making some assumptions, so sue me...).
2. As the halo car for a volume brand it has a much larger potential audience than Mercedes-Benz.
3. It's got a heritage that goes back over 50 years, which further increases its buyer group (M-B tried to tie the SLR to the original SLR...FAIL...)
Plus at only 250 a year (or less) that's half the annual planned volume of the SLR.
Conclusion: Bring on 6 years of new GT!!