Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing (w/ startup)

A silver 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG arriving at and leaving Ancillary Studios at South Coast Plaza during its Pre-Monterey Gathering (a.k.a. "Prebble"), hosted in partnership with Zuma Cars & Coffee.

I've always found it difficult to objectively justify why this car exists. The iconic '50s 300SL Gullwing, which it was inspired by, was built for racing and had limitations in design and engineering that made its top-hinged doors a necessity. As for the SLS, it's clear the primary purpose of its Gullwing doors was to make the car a proper modern interpretation of the classic. Yes, it's a very wide car, but there are numerous wider cars that use conventional doors. The top-hinged doors limit storage space and are hard to close for shorter occupants. They also result in bulky-looking pillars and will probably cost a lot to maintain in the long run. The folks at Mercedes-Benz and AMG could have just modified an SL63 to make a supercar for a fraction of the cost. But somebody in headquarters was bent on making a modern Gullwing, so here it is. And wow, what a sexy car! With its long hood and timeless profile, this car proves that anything less than a modern Gullwing simply wouldn't have been as cool. And when talking about cool factor, sometimes the "why" really doesn't matter.

Do you think the SLS AMG is a worthy spiritual successor of the original 300SL Gullwing? Leave a comment on YouTube and let me know!