It’s been over a year since we first spotted a “C197” testing in the States, and at that time it was a Frankenstein mule with several Viper parts bolted on. Since then, a definitive shape and body has emerged with gullwing doors as a center point. Surely, car fans are more than ready to see the finished concept, however, it's still considered an early development prototype and the latest information from sources puts the Mercedes Gullwing well over one year away as a debut in March 2010 in Geneva is set.
The “Mercedes Gullwing” has often been referred to as the SLC, but we’re expecting the production version to have a new name under the AMG brand. According to sources, production will be limited to 6000 units annually for only two years, and power will come from AMG's 6.3-liter V8 in either turbo or supercharged form making between 550 and 650hp. Transmission will be Mercedes' 7-Tronic automatic.
Looking closely at the photos we can see a strip of LED daytime running lights along the bottom of the headlight clusters. There also seem to be additional LEDs in the top section of the headlight cluster as well. Another detail that pops out are the large cross-drilled rotors. We're also expecting a large Mercedes star will be dead center on the grill much like it appeared on the original 300 SL.
Mercedes Gullwing Latest Spy Photos in Desert
Debut in Geneva 2010
AUTOMEDIA / Mercedes Gullwing spy photo
Comments
Airbag
September 24, 2008 5:36 PM
Will it not get the MCT transmission? That would seem to be an enormous oversight to only give it the standard autobox.
machida
September 24, 2008 6:57 PM
Ooh, this is getting sexy. Modern version of the 300SLR without seeming like retro pastiche. Look at the rear window and you can see the roofline has a fake cap, as does the trunk, so expect a shape very much like the 1950s forebear. No reason not to keep using the SLR name...it fits this car better than the McLaren-built model.
Not sure why the perforated rotors are so noteworthy in a car of this calibre, but for the record MB rotors are cast with the holes in place, to prevent the stress points that would be caused by drilling them after the fact, so they are not "cross-drilled." Also, the AMG "6.3" is a 6.2-liter engine, and the tranny is called "7G-Tronic." :)
mmr66
September 24, 2008 11:57 PM
they are being unrealistic i mean 6000 anualy they dont sell that many s-classes.
Sharpie
September 25, 2008 12:26 AM
Are you kidding me mmr66? They sell over 100,000 S-classes a year. Which happens to be the most in that class.
mmr66
September 25, 2008 3:02 AM
i know i was joking my point was that this is not going to be priced like an s-class maybe even 4 times the price of an s so how are they going to sell 12000 in two years.
M!
September 25, 2008 6:24 AM
the SLR was quite a boring car anyways. i doubt they can make it worse. hopefully they can live up to the gullwing name.
nendor
September 25, 2008 9:13 AM
they didn't sell except 1500 SLR's because of its price if the price was around 300-350K you would see it everywhere
JackJack
September 25, 2008 10:19 AM
There is too much camo to see any real detail on this car. I still can't make out whether it looks like any "traditional" Merc Styling we've seen before. I'm sure they'll use the new MCT 7G-Tronic box with the wet-clutch instead of the standard 7G. It'll be able to handle alot more torque. I doubt they'll stick the old 5 Speed AMG box that the SLR has into it. Too Old IMHO. Performance wise let's hope they keep the weight down and the output up. It needs to have a 0-100km/h to be mid 3 sec's or less to keep up with the other supercars of today. 4 Sec's is way to slow nowadays!!!
dbehmoaras
September 25, 2008 4:26 PM
whats the point of making this if they are not going to put some 800hp in it they already have the sl65 black this is going to be the same thing with a smaller engine but similar out put with fancy doors audi r8 v10 is the way to go
benxxl
October 9, 2008 6:16 PM
Are you talking of the Audi R8 V10 that burns instead of driving? Well, thats a ridicolous car!
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