This Mercedes 300SL-Inspired Coachbuilt Special Is Proof Money Doesn’t Buy Taste

Saoutchik, an illustrious name from the early days of coachbuilding, has returned with an interesting take on the classic lines of the Mercedes 300SL

Mike Bartholomew

24 Sep 2024

The Mercedes 300SL, you’re aware of: the stunning, gullwing-doored coupe and its roadster counterpart (which sensibly eschewed the gullwings) are some of the most revered, beautiful cars ever made. Saoutchik, you might not be so familiar with. During the illustrious golden age of coachbuilding in the 1920s and ’30s, the French company produced some fairly spectacular bodies – including for Mercedes chassis – before going bust in the ’50s.

Anyway, Saoutchik – or at least the Saoutchik name – is back, and it’s on a mission to recapture its glory days by re-bodying off-the-shelf cars with its own unique twist. And hoo, boy.

This is the Saoutchik 300GTC, the first product from the revived company, and as you can see, it’s pretty clearly inspired by the 300SL. All the hallmarks are there – the round headlights, the distinctive strakes that shave the tops off the wheel arches, the chrome vents aft of the front wheels.

Based on the interior, the convertible version of the old-shape Mercedes-AMG GT looks like it's the base here. Because it's a soft-top roadster, there are no showy gullwing doors. You probably don’t need them if showing off is your goal though, because THERE’S SO MUCH CHROME. Drive this on a bright day, and you’ll be at risk of dazzling oncoming traffic as the sun glints off your enormous multi-spoke wheels.

The new body is made from carbon fibre, and each of the 15 planned cars will apparently take over 4,000 hours to hand assemble. Naturally, owners can spec pretty much any paint and upholstery they want, and we’re sure that every single combination will be an exercise in good taste and restraint.

As for tech specs, we don’t have any at this moment, but assuming there's no tweaks made to the GT's 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, power output could be anything from 456 to 577bhp.

Ordinarily, we’d advise against anyone trying to directly reinterpret the staggering beauty of the original 300SL… and this is no different. We can’t stop 15 presumably very wealthy people from signing on the dotted line for one, but we sincerely hope whatever Saoutchik does next comes with a bit less bling.

The first full sentence spoken by an infant Mike was a review of the ride quality of a Volvo 850. It was “Daddy’s car goes bumpy-bump on a bumpy road,” so would probably need proofreading a bit, but it was a start.