What is it?

It's the spiritual successor to the legendary 300SL 'gullwing' of 1954, and a proper standalone Ferrari-baiting supercar from the company that brings you the A-Class. Stunning, isn't it?

Why's it here?

Because there's a gap in the market, apparently, although it will jostle with not one but two brand new and similarly priced supercars when it goes in sale next year in the form of the Ferrari 458 Italia and the McLaren MP4-12C.

It's looking promising for the Gullwing: powered by a 6.2-litre V8 packing 563bhp and 479lb.ft, the body is mostly aluminium for light weight and power is fed through a seven-speed twin-clutch automatic gearbox mounted at the rear, which is good for weight distribution. It has an adaptable chassis too, which should make it equally at home on the motorway as it is on the track, because its parameters will be set differently to those on the system found in other AMG cars. 0-62mph is done with in 3.8 seconds, and its speed is limited to a frankly boring 197mph...

Show stopper or floor filler?

Have you seen the doors? Well why ask? There's no doubting its credentials, and Mercedes has got the styling spot on. Figure on a price of around £150,000 when it sees the showroom next year, though it will have an extensive options list mostly consisting of things made from carbon fibre: interior trim, seats - anything that can be fashioned from the stuff, basically. Hardcore suspension and ceramic brakes will be available too.