It’s a ‘wing thing

Another gullwinged Mercedes, this time from German company, er, Gullwing

08 May 2009

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Mercedes 1952 300SL Gullwing

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2009 is turning into the year of the gullwing. With Merc’s SLS supercar soon to arrive, we’ve already seen Arturo Alonso’s gorgeous old-school Panamerica concept, and now this, the retro Gullwing.

It’s a faithful recreation of the original 1952 300SL from German company Gullwing GmbH, but updated with lots of shiny new oily bits underneath. Gullwing has ditched the 300SL’s 216bhp, 3.0-litre straight six in favour of Mercedes’ new 405bhp, 5.5-litre V8 driving the rear wheels through an automatic gearbox.

The retro Gullwing also gets a completely redesigned chassis, brakes and suspension, along with all yer mod cons such as air con, ABS, sat nav and a transistor radio. OK, we lied about the transistor radio.

It doesn’t come cheap, mind. A retro Gullwing will set you back 165,000 Euros (about £147,000), and you’ll have to wait around 18 months for delivery. Even so, Gullwing expects to sell about thirty cars a year.

So it’s an even tougher decision now. Merc SLS, Panamerica or this? 

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What do you think?

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Ferko commented on this article

at 01:46 pm on 08 May 2009

There is fourth option! The original 300 SL.

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Torch(USA) commented on this article

at 02:46 pm on 08 May 2009

Thank god they got the wheels right. Car like this doesnt need 22 inch wheels.

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Wotski commented on this article

at 05:11 pm on 08 May 2009

Mmm, 405hp through skinny rear tyres - anyone for donuts?

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StigsIrishCousn commented on this article

at 05:22 pm on 08 May 2009

This offering from Gullwing would have the best of old school class, charm and looks, and new school technology - the perfect compromise.

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Mikeado commented on this article

at 05:38 pm on 08 May 2009

So: The SLS is all new and shiny and hyped, the Gullwing America SL Panamerica is the retro-modern custom car and this Gullwing GmbH looks exactly like the old one but drives much better (one can easily assume). How much wider are the wheels compared to the one from 1952? It's my only doubt about this car. They look sort-of-reasonable-ish, but I'm still not sure... Personally if the SLS ends up looking bad, I'd go for this. And fit better tyres.

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