More Mercedes SLC Prototype Spied
Gullwing revival?
Mercedes and AMG are still hard at work in Europe and the USA on the successor of the legendary 300 SL from the fifties and sixties. Codenamed the W197, this might just be the hottest project for the coming years and is scheduled to make its first appearance in 2010.
There is not much we can tell you besides the fact that every detail is sketchy at best, but the car is being developed by AMG and should be built in the Mercedes Sindelfingen plant in Germany at a rate of 3,000 to 5,000 units annually.
The 2 seater will probably be powered by a 620 hp V8, be a few centimeters shorter than the future SL, have a tubular frame like the '50s Gullwing 300 SL and have rear-wheel-drive. Expect a hefty price tag of somewhere between 150,000 to 200,000 Euro.
wtf is wrong with you guys? always critizing this car's styling borrows from this and that? so what if they look alike? How RADICAL can a car change?
The car is going to be based on the past model of th 1950s 300 SLR. Much on the styling cues. Mercedes should call it as SLR 65.
Another thing, this car may be going to take on the German rival and the sucessful supercar, Audi R8.
i think this is going to be a real classic... not a platsic wonder thing like the SLR...
to classic for me, i don't want to be trap in past
You've got to get rid of this 'lehmann' guy for the renderings. They're horrendous. This could definitely be the 'halo' car Mercedes need.
this car has the Dodge Viper's unmistakable lines.
What are you talking about..the Viper has barely any lines at all.
its not going to look anything like the viper i guarantee u that much, and it definatly wont look like the rendering because Ferrari will sue, that is 100% 612 Scaglietti
unless you work under Mercedes' payroll , and you are no one else but its current CEO ,your "guarantee" is as insubstantial as thin air .
classic design in front end but too ferrari in side. mercedes,please do it best
guys guys, 1)Merc has never used that side design before ant won't use it in the near future. 2)That spy pictures belong to a viper! Maybe a facelift for viper, boy... its not connected with merc?
While Mercedes could very well be using Viper body parts on a new test mule for the SLC (or whatever it's going to be called), it'd be really funny if it was in fact a new Viper, and all these journalist and speculators were way off.
Why does it remind you of a 612 Scaglietti?? I like what they did with the fendors, but I doubt the production model will look anything like this.
Because it looks exactly the same
http://img.yauto.cz/tapety/Ferrari_612_Scaglietti.jpg
Guys...these are old pictures taken in the American southwest desert...this is supposed to be a test mule for Benz disguised by a Viper body...and I agree with whiz, the lehmann renderings are awful and unimaginative combining elements from Benz, Ferrari & the present SLR. Considering the ongoing cooperation between Daimler & Chrysler in some respects it does make sense to use the Viper platform as the base for the MB SLR as this will reduce cost for both companies...but Daimler was notorious for not fully realizing the economies of scale when the company was DaimlerChrysler and did not want to dilute the prestige of the Mercedes Benz brand by sharing components and technology...with a couple notable exceptions. I don't think any of us know exactly what the new SLR/SLC will look like BUT I am sure it will look more dynamic and better than lehmann's guess.
"You've got to get rid of this 'lehmann' guy for the renderings. They're horrendous. This could definitely be the 'halo' car Mercedes need."
i agree, the lehmann rendering looks horrible... like a cheap maserati...
and where is the air duct that starts in the front fender and ends behind the doors... i don't think that that is camo only... actually i love that feature...
BENZian: the pix are old, but i think it's important to keep the discussion alive... i wonder where MB is testing right now??? stuttgart? the ring? cold weather in sweden? advanced hot weather testing in S.A./namibia???
i think the next pictures are about to hit us... hopefully soon... even though i'm not a potential MB buyer, i love to see MB advance in terms od style..
right now the 3series coupe is the one to beat in terms of classiness...
sure, I love the 3 Series Coupe too. But Mercedes-Benz sells MORE Mercedes cars than BMW sells BMW cars!!!! And Mercedes has higher operating margin. Of course they also sell trucks. Daimler AG is gonna make 8.5 billion euros (12.5 billion USD) this year.
"guys guys, 1)Merc has never used that side design before ant won't use it in the near future. 2)That spy pictures belong to a viper! Maybe a facelift for viper, boy... its not connected with merc?"
i disagree, the wheelbase is off, anbd the plates are CA distributor plates, my guess is penske is doing the testing for MB in that shot... and penske does MB, not chrysler/dodge stuff....
for a super secret project like the SLC this camo is perfect... i think for a classic to come it's very important to keep it as secret as possible, especially with the chinese not having any repsect for copyright issues... mid-term the koreans and for a long time now the japanese have gone their own way since in the high priced market cars don't sell unless they have their own design...
the early mexus, aeh i mean lexus, was so cheap people didn't care if it was 85% mercedes knock off... but lexus got more and more expensive and people demanded a no nkock off design...
This story was reported last summer and while I enjoy the conversation...it has very little to do with the facts...people are just commenting to see their comments... This car is a development mule for the next SLR/SLC or whatever it will be called. Please notice that this mule has rear tailpipes even though it also has viper side pipes that is one give away that it is not a viper...but it does makes sense for Chrysler & Daimler ( which still owns almost 20% of Chrysler and has an ongoing mutual cooperation agreement) to combine the platforms and the development cost of the low volume Viper and the SLR replacement. We should all hope this true...the Viper is a great car although somewhat brutal and unsophisticated...the Viper would make a great donor platform for the SLR and hopefully Benz will make some upgrades in the platform and shave off some weight...then we get a much better Viper and a great SLR. The viper is too big and while I love the 10 cylinder engine it is very heavy and does not need to be over 8 liters to produce the same power. I know some of you will scream but I think BMW has it right using smaller engines with twin turbos...this gives you massive power, lower engine weight and more efficient operation and higher mileage. Rumor has it that Ferrari is considering a twin turbo V8 in it's next top of the line car...the Viper should drop the huge, old, trucky V10 and twin turbo the new HEMI 6.1 liter V8. So the short answer is...modify, lighten, shorten the Viper platform, give it more sophisticated technology and then use that as the donor platform for the next SLR/SLC. Then we get a better Viper , a better SLR and increased profit for both companies from shared development cost and platform sharing...lol sorry to sound like a know it all...but I really would like to see this happen...
Finally a proper supercar that will be built by AMG. I hope that the actual car will look nothing like the rendering. The overall shape resembles that of the SLR and the grille is a derivation from that of the Gullwing. Enough of that retro stuff thats becoming a trend of American cars. Its time for progression, and AMG can do better.
Arghh... This a Merc?? Are car designers going OTT or is it just that people like me aren't being up to minute?
it does not look like a Ferrari Scaglietti. NOT AT ALL! it's one of the BEST designs i have ever seen.
You guys do realize that this car is 5 years away from hitting the road and any "prototype spied" for the next year is going to be nothing but a mere test mule and will not be very related to the final design of the car... don't you?
You do realize that the Dodge Viper lines are NOT going to be included in the final product at all, and we don't need the Mercedes Chairman to come here and say so... don't you?
If MB/AMG uses the Viper platform this car can be on teh road much sooner than 5 years and will be more profitable than the current SLR.
youre right... the SLR kinda flopped. overworked SL for 500K?
bad idea.
Okay people guys gals, hate for saying this ut to me the frontnd light area reminds me of a mitsubishi eclipse and the side/back reminds of a chrysler crossfire not a ferrari anything, gofigure
haha! if you can design a better car than Benz, i would say you are a genius!
lets see this car with its gullwings up, then I will be impressed
I'm still "ify" on the design. I see a bit of the classic Mercedes, with the use of the front grill. But on the other hand I feel they got some design ideas from Ferrari.
We'll see when it's fully uncovered.