Spied: Mercedes-Benz “SLS” Gull Wing Super Car

It wasn’t as hot as it’s been on some of my recent trips to Death Valley—only 119 degrees—but that didn’t stop me from snagging a close-up look at the successor to Mercedes-Benz’s outgoing SLR, which some have dubbed the "SLS." What was so unusual, aside from the Viper-like cladding, was the cloaking around where the roof meets the back window. Strangely, the Mercedes-Benz engineers made absolutely no attempt to evade the camera—it’s almost as if they wanted me to get a good shot of the car! Maybe they just figured the "SLS" has already been photographed extensively on both sides of the Atlantic, and they’re trying to defer some buyers from the Audi R8? More text and pics after the jump.

When I returned home from the 500-mile round trip, I went online to cull all of the details from prior blogs and posted my comprehensive analysis on Automotive Traveler. What really struck me? The size of the brake package; those babies are absolutely huge! As usual, high-res wallpaper-sized images (1600 pixels wide) are available for download at the Automotive Traveler image gallery. Special thanks go to friend Chris Fierek, who made the day-long trip with me and drove while I concentrated on getting the best possible shots.