In a previous post from AutoblogGreen’s Greenlings series, we took a brief look at how and why aerodynamics play a significant role in a vehicle’s overall efficiency. To put in plainly, the easier a car is to push through the wind, the better its fuel efficiency is likely to be. Mercedes-Benz has made great strides [...]
With new CAFE regulations looming on the horizon, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are considering bringing four-cylinder models back to the States. BMW’s development of new four-pots have been widely reported over the last year, with the automaker confirming work on a direct injected, twin-turbocharged four, likely to be fitted on the next generation 1 and 3 [...]
Filed under: Concept Cars, Time Warp, Mercedes-Benz
They don’t build ‘em like they used to. Actually, they usually built them better, but they don’t design ‘em like they used to. Or so Gullwing-America figures. The classically-enamored garage is planning on relaunching the original SL’s iconic shape with modern technology and fabrication in what could very well be the ultimate blend of old and new.
The 2009 Gullwing-America 300 SL Panamericana is the brainchild of Arturo Alonso, the same engineer behind the Bentley S3 E concept. With that model already on its way to market, Alonso has turned his attention to the Gullwing. With a body of fiberglass-reinforced aluminum over a powder-coated steel chassis, the Panamericana will apparently draw its power from Mercedes’ own M-133-55 engine, the same 5.5-liter V8 underpinning the SLR McLaren’s supercharged unit, albeit tuned to produce 370 horsepower. Plans are also afoot to make a smaller V6 available, either mated to a six-speed manual or a seven-ratio Speedtronic automatic transmission.
Riding low on 17-inch AMG wheels with a custom independent suspension, to our eyes, the 300 SL Panamericana looks a lot hotter than the camouflaged versions of the forthcoming AMG-tuned Gullwing, but they’ll need some orders to get the project off the ground and on to the street. Follow the jump for the press release and check out the renderings in the high-resolution image gallery below.
[Source: Gullwing-America via World Car Fans]
Continue reading Gullwing-America modernizes the Mercedes 300SL
Gullwing-America modernizes the Mercedes 300SL originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The gestation of the Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS has spanned almost two years, and what started with a Viper-bodied mule, a few drawings and a full-scale interior mock-up has evolved into this, the latest super coupe prototype caught outside AMG Headquarters in Affalterbach, Germany.
Although there’s still plenty of camo obscuring the finer points of the SLS’ [...]
While so many other automakers have reinvented their logos over the years, Mercedes-Benz has stuck with the same one for 100 years now. One century ago, Daimler-Motoren-Gesselschaft went down to the local patent office and registered the Three-Pointed Star, the logo everyone knows and recognizes today. Just a few weeks later, August Benz & [...]
A string of reports over the past couple of days are emerging to paint a picture of a potentially huge reshuffle of the Formula One grid and the players involved as early as next season. The FIA and the teams are planning another round of regulation changes to further curb costs in F1, but while [...]
After accidentally leaking a preview on its home-market configuration website last week, Mercedes-Benz has officially unveiled its revised flagship luxo-muscle sedans, the S63 AMG and S65 AMG, at the 2009 Shanghai Motor Show today. Both are treated to the same updates given to the entire S-Class range, but these two big beasts pack one seriously [...]
Don’t look now, but there’s another Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren special on the scene. The latest comes via FAB Design, the tuner that shocked us with their modded SL and CL in Geneva last year. Now they’ve turned their attention to the SLR and dubbed the result “Desire.” If beauty is in the eye of the [...]
