Mercedes 1952 300SL Gullwing - It’s a ‘wing thing

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?