If there are no second acts in Hollywood, there are certainly plenty in Detroit and Sindelfingen, Germany. The former city recently brought us the reinvigorated Camaro, Charger, and Mustang, and the latter has just finished re-creating and updating one of the most extraordinary vehicles in the history of the automotive business, and there are no small number of people who think this a sacrilege.

The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL gullwing-door sports coupe, manufactured between 1955 and 1957 (bottom), is regarded with not just approximated but actual reverence among sport car and design enthusiasts alike. Fabulously forward-seeking for its day, the car’s signature upward-opening doors were just the most outward symbol of its innovations. A beautifully-tuned suspension, smooth-as-silk motor, uncommonly great ergonomics, and all the usual Mercedes refinements were on display. Germany’s most famous automaker has certainly produced its share of miracles before and since, but non make eyes light up as quickly and readily as the magical 300 SL… until now.

Thanks to Mercedes’ custom design division at AMG, this year brings the SLS AMG Gullwing. Rolled out at the 2010 Auto Show in Berlin, the model was described therein by the company’s head of development Thomas Weber as quite simply a “revolution,” and an attempt to establish “just how sporty a Mercedes-Benz can be.” Given that it shares not a single structural component with any other Mercedes model, we’re inclined to believe him, at least from an engineering standpoint.

We had a chance to take a look at the Gullwing after a business associate actually had one shipped from Germany to northern New Jersey because he was unwilling to wait until the rumored U.S. sales in early fall. He was further kind enough to hand us the keys, and what followed was something that can only be termed a religious experience, tinged with madcap laughs…and a near death experience.

These pictures will tell you that all the usual superlatives apply as far as inspired German assembly habits are concerned. The handmade chassis is battleship-strong, and the interior remarkably roomy for a sports coupe. More interesting still, the Gullwing chucks what is an almost inevitable by-product of sports car manufacturing these days: a blaze of confusing dials, switches, navigational, and audio gear that makes the experience of driving more akin to attending a college review class than reinvigorating your inner teenager. Though sophisticated, the interior is flatly simple, with a thrillingly austere array of gauges (analog, thank God), and a discreetly-organized array of buttons underneath the navigation equipment. Frankly, we barely touched any of the stuff, at least  once we felt the 563 hp, 32-valve V-8 breath its first; there was little time or opportunity to experience anything else.
Whatever your destination, the combination of the subdued roar under the hood and the graceful ascent of the gullwing doors produces an impression like few other automobiles on planet Earth. In trading weight for stiffness, the suspension reminds us of riding a roller coaster on slightly flatter terrain; there is simply no deviating from the line you establish for the car, regardless of how inexpertly you attend to the seven-speed tiptronic transmission or how indelicately you apply the accelerator, even in hard turns. It is nearly (see next paragraph) impossible to get the tail end of this car out of its proper place, which makes every driver look as if he or she has attended racing school for the last six months.

There were a few stretches of open road in which we tested the car’s rumored acceleration of 0-60 in 3.7 seconds, and our unofficial results bear that out as correct—and maybe even a little conservative. The thing is a rocket, and for us, that led to some trouble. Tempted to explore the Gullwing’s limits on a deserted and thoughtfully-targeted stretch of rural road just off the Palisades, we actually—if unintentionally—got the Mercedes to hair-raise, full-bore drift about 30 yards around a corner, all four wheels blazing their delight and disgust at being made to produce such a gauche maneuver. We came within about three feet of throwing the car off the edge of the road—and costing the magazine a small fortune in the process—but were nevertheless all sheepish smiles after the shock wore off. We were in love, with all the usual triumphs and terrors associated with that state.

Breathing life into an automotive legend isn’t an inexpensive proposition, and the AMG SLS Gullwing will likely have an asking price of just shy of $200,000, but for those to whom owning a resurrected legend is a lifelong ambition, the amount is a mere piffle for a new dream in the making. •