Mercedes SLS news - SLS gets extra-retro - 2009

The new Mercedes SLS is an amazing thing: 553bhp of sublime handling and mad square edges and excellent gullwing doors.

But if you feel it's lacking a bit of retro charm, the tuners at Gullwing America are here to help.

Their makeover aims to make the SLS a little more 50s, a little more 300SL and... well, we're not quite sure about it.

You'll remember Gullwing America as the guys who created that swoopy, retro 300SL, and it looks like they've tried to meld the new SLS with their original creation.

Which means a bizarre bodykit consisting of carbon fibre and aluminium - check out those flattened-off arches - plus a cracking set of 20-inch alloys, and a whole load of Alcantara on the inside.

What do you think? As we said, we're not at all convinced - and we're guessing that if you were unsure about the SLS's aesthetics before, this won't do much to help.

We'll hold out for 2011's SLS Black Edition, ta...