Have you ever seen a car spreading its wings? Now you do. This is a full cgi shortfilm featuring the most iconic car of all time, the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, at least in my opinion… I always loved this car, and when I first started this project, I didn’t just wanna make a car rolling by in the desert, I knew there was a bigger story to make, it had to fly. Following its name legacy, I dived deep in this crazy rollercoaster of assembling car parts, raging though the desert of Bonneville salt flats, in order to build a full chassis so the flying body kit could land. After this, the rest is music. A symphony of a few animated shots of this beauty gloriously riding through the desert, creating clouds of smoke through the landscape while hearing that amazing engine roaring. This is “Gullwing”.
Mercedes-Benz Gullwing Construction Shortfilm
If you’re into cars, then what you’re about to witness may just take your breath away. Take it like this, if you follow autoevolution regularly, you’ve probably figured out that I’m more of a mobility guy. However, when my eyes witnessed the video you’re about to, I was left hitting the replay button as though I was watching the newest Super Bowl commercial.
Ok, just to we understand each other, what this whole article is going to be about is nothing more than a visual feast upon one of, if not the most iconic vehicle design of the 20th century, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, you know, the “Gullwing.”
During the 1952 sports car racing season, Mercedes appeared with a vehicle that was to stand as “the fastest production car of its day.” Sporting a lightweight design and a spaceframe construction to hold the engine in place, this 215 hp icon reached a top speed of 250 kph (155 mph).
However, as a result of its innovative construction, the car had no room for classic doors. Cue the gullwings! From here on, it was clear. The name Gullwing was stuck. Today, if you can find one of the 1,500 presumable samples still out there, you’re looking at a diamond worth up to $2 million. Some auctions have even seen double this figure, or more.
It’s this iconic vehicle that sparked the video below. The visual studio behind the full CGI short film goes by the name of briktop, nothing more, nothing less. But the work left me watching this video on replay, each time with the same goosebumps.
SPOILER ALERT!
It all starts with the sounds of a single violin against a flat salt landscape. Suddenly, something flies across the desert landscape, kicking up dust in its wake. A second later, there it goes again, this time with a slightly more visible angle. The third frame then begins to unfurl the action.
What you see is a tire, rolling along the desert; lonely. A split second later, components fly into view and find their place within the wheel construction. The camera then shifts to the interior of the wheel and oh my god.
From here, you witness this studio’s imagination at work. Component by component, bolt by bolt, and rust-ridden screw by rust-ridden screw, the Gullwing begins to take shape. The front of the chassis complete, you’ll then see the rear begin to assemble, piece by piece, like a moving Lego set. Motor components fall into place, a spring suspension twists into view, and the drive shaft assembles, all the while, the spaceframe tubes begin to complete the underlying structure.
All the while, among the skies, flying in joyful expectation for the completion of the chassis, the 300 SL’s bodywork is seeing some attention of its own. With eyes (headlights) open and wings flapping about, the interior of the vehicle begins to take shape, again, one component at a time. Gauges and needlework, seat stitching, and panel controls, all pop into view, and the “Gullwing” bodywork takes a final cloud-breaking dive towards its destination, the chassis.
With a final flap of its slightly malleable wings, the bodywork sets upon the chassis, the Mercedes-Benz emblem appears into view as a final stamp of approval, and the rest of the rest of the video then lets you see exactly what you’ve wanted to all along, a completed 300 SL driving around on salt flats, all valves firing in unison like an orchestra.
With final scenes showing single particles of salt on a pristine vehicle, the full orchestra that’s been playing in the background dies down to a piano and violin again. Roll credits and enjoy. Go make some popcorn before you hit play.
