Return Of The Gullwing – 2011 Mercedes SLS

The Mercedes Benz 300SL (SL meaning Sport Light) Gullwing was one of the very first iconic supercars in the world.  In 1954 the 300SL Gullwing reestablished Mercedes as King of road racing and sold for a ridiculous amount of money, four thousand pounds ($8,000USD). In 1954 you could buy a home for that kind of money. Mercedes only produced 1400 examples of these cars and today the 300SL Gullwing is prized among car collectors all across the world. A pristine Gullwing can fetch anywhere from half a million to a full 1 million US Dollars.

The beautifully crafted 300 SL Gullwing door was actually first created from a practical engineering stand point. The door sills were very high for chassis stiffness and the roof sat low for aerodynamics, which in turn gave its distinctive silhouette. Its power plant wasn’t new as it was borrowed from one their existing models, the Mercedes 300, but the 3.0L direct injection inline 6 propelled the Gullwing from a stand still onwards to 150. Impressive considering that most cars of its time were struggling to do half that. Out powering most of the competition by miles, the SL Gullwing was revered as one of the first and fastest production supercars of its time. Now on to present time.

Has history repeated itself? It appears they have. Mercedes Benz has taken an iconic supercar and brought it back to life. The all new (300SL Gullwing inspired)  2011 Mercedes Benz SLS AMG will feature 6.3L V8 borrowed from the now familar E 63/ S 63 AMG Sedans The engine makes 563hp and 479 lb-ft torque. Nothing was compromised during the design phase. The car underwent a strict diet plan shredding off unnecessary pounds. The underpinning of the SLS is an all-new, 531-lb aluminum space frame designed specifically for this model. Mercedes is claiming a preliminary curb weight of 3571 pounds, which would make the SLS nearly 300 pounds lighter than the $455,000 carbon-fiber Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren’s 3858-lb weight, and far lighter than the 4220-lb Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series. The new SLS Gullwing will house a all new seven speed gearbox housed at the rear axle encompassing it with the differential, for better weight distribution. The gear box is dual clutch automated manual transmission that really takes the guess work out of driving.

Because of the rather dated look of the SL, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mercedes applied this kind of fresh look to it next.  So you’re asking how much will I fork out to take one of theses home? Well Mercedes says you will be in the hole about  $200,000 to $250,000. Which if you think about is a hell of a lot cheaper then the Classic 300SL Gullwing at half a million. It is strange how history seems to repeat itself. Vintage, retro, iconic cars are being either revamped, reworked, or re-made. I can personally  think of a few examples of cars that have risen from the grave only to  bring a fresh, new, yet familiar look to a brand. The iconic 300SL has always been a staple of the Mercedes brand. Has Mercedes captured the excitement of the original car in the SLS? Possibly. But it’ll take a test drive to know for sure.

UPDATE: Drawings of Mercedes SLS