Here's a follow-up to last week's round of Mercedes Gullwing/SLC spy shots – even more scoop photos of Merc's new supercar, baring both its gullwing doors for the first time.

Our man with the long lens has caught this prototype out on test during a lunch stop when the engineers carelessly left both doors open. They're the most obvious link back to one of the most famous Mercedes of all time, the feted 1950s original with butterfly doors.

It's the first time we've seen the Gullwing in action as a prototype; until now we've scooped the engineering mule based on a cut 'n' shut Dodge Viper body. The finished item will mix retro styling cues – side gills, those doors – with modern Merc's stylised wheel arches and high-tech headlamps.

So the new SLC is a tribute act! When will we see it perform?

The new model will be quite different in focus to the original SL. Codenamed C197, the coupe scooped here will be shown formally at the 2010 Geneva motor show (with a concept expected in autumn 2009) while a canvas-roofed roadster, tagged R197, will be unveiled in 2011.

As previously reported by CAR Online, we've seen some pretty revealing documentation on the Gullwing, right down to its exact dimensions: it'll stretch the tape measure to 4650mm long, 1950mm wide and 1250mm high – all wrapped around a 2700mm wheelbase.

And, intriguingly, the Gullwing will also be the first road car to be badged exclusively AMG – with not a Merc star badge in sight, we hear.

via carmagazine