It’s a Gullwing body, but what’s underneath might surprise you.
Tuner cars can be a lot of fun, if executed well. That’s of course the big caveat when you draw way outside of the lines in the automotive world. Putting a big aluminum wing and 4-inch exhaust, plus a copious amounts of stickers on an otherwise bone-stock Honda Accord isn’t a good move. But taking a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing body and putting it on something more modern and far more potent, now that’s really something special.
The car you see pictured above and featured in the video below was at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas back in 2018. You might not have caught it or have forgotten it exists. Most people probably glanced at it and decided it was just a gussied-up Mercedes-Benz 300SL, which obviously isn’t anything to downplay. However, the reality of this car is even more interesting.
John Sarkisyan took a Gullwing body and slapped it on a 2002 Mercedes-Benz SLK32 AMG chassis, along with the newer car’s drivetrain. That, of course, means more power or a meaty 349-horsepower to be more precise. All the more modern features from the SLK have been preserved, so the car is quite modern, despite looking appropriately classic.
That body you’re looking at it made of fiberglass. Sarkisyan used a friend’s real Gullwing to make molds and then create this amazing clone. How exactly they got it to fit the SLK chassis so well is I’m sure something he doesn’t want to reveal.
Not everyone is a fan of restomods, but plenty of people are. After all, they have the classic aesthetics you don’t get on cars today, but you’re dealing with superior engineering, more power, tighter handling, and all the modern conveniences you honestly actually want. If you don’t have to sacrifice to drive that classic, why would you?
Image credit: YouTube
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