Let’s start with an unassailable premise: In a corporate history overflowing with exceptional automobiles, few if any have more enduring cachet than the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing coupes of 1955–57. It’s no exaggeration to call them automotive immortals, which makes the prospect of a contemporary sequel downright daunting to those responsible for its execution—the denizens of AMG, Mercedes’ in-house performance division.
  AMG has an impressive track record for creating sophisticated hot-rod versions of just about every vehicle Mercedes produces. But the 2011 SLS AMG is different. AMG says the car shares no structural elements with other Benzes, and was created to “show how sporty a Mercedes can be,” according to Thomas Weber, Benz’s head of research and development.