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Mercedes-Benz SL|PURE Concept Is the Modern Reinterpretation of the Gullwing

Mercedes-Benz has quite a lot of legendary passenger cars to look back upon, but the 300 SL Gullwing has got to top them all. Even today's kids know about it, and we're very much aware how much they care about things with no touchscreens.
Mercedes-benz SL|PURE 19 photos
Photo: Matthias Böttcher
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It makes sense, then, that people take advantage of this sonorous name and use it to their advantage. But that's a two sided blade: yes, you can milk some of that fame for your own benefit, but it can also backfire and, if your proposition doesn't live up to the expectations, you're in the middle of a sh*t storm.

Because now you've committed a sacrilege. You don't take the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL's name in vain, and you don't mess with its image unless you're absolutely sure you can make it better. Which, let me spare you the trouble, you can't.

Well, Matthias Botcher, a transport designer from Stuttgart, Germany, thought otherwise. He came up with the concept you can see below - a modern reinterpretation of the 300 SL Gullwing - as his bachelor degree thesis. And judging by his smile in one of the pictures, he got his degree.

All jokes aside (what jokes? One does not joke about the 300 SL Gullwing), his model car - christened SL|PURE - doesn't look half-bad. Actually, if Mercedes-Benz were to present it as their second rendition of the Vision Gran Turismo thing, nobody would mind. It is a very respectable looking futuristic sports car that even manages to capture some of the more modern Mercedes-Benz styling cues.

But it's not a 300 SL Gullwing in anyway. I mean, it literally has no gullwing doors, so what less could we have asked for? It does have a front grille that mimics the shape of the one on the original 300 SL, but we're not sure if you can call it a "grille" as it is completely shut.

You know what else is completely shut? The whole car's greenhouse. Where normally there is a window, the SL|PURE (that's the name Matthias Botcher chose for his project) has something that looks just like the rest of the car's body. Either he's planning on a revolutionary material that's opaque on the outside and transparent on the inside, or the car is the first fully (and only) autonomous sports car. Which makes absolutely no sense.

Since I do feel like I've been roasting his brainchild for the past 400 or so words, I will give a big and positive shout-out to those gorgeous wheels. I hope somebody at Mercedes-Benz (or better yet, Mercedes-AMG) is watching this.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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