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Gullwing America turns SLS AMG Roadster into stunning 1955 300 SC redux

Gullwing America specializes in what it calls "retro styling meets modern technology." It's next demonstration of that is the convertible above, a stylized recreation of the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SC (inset) supported by the structure of a 2012 SLS AMG Roadster. Commissioned by a client in Eastern Europe, the resulting car is called the 300 SLC.
The hand-formed aluminum bodywork required just a few changes to the SLS AMG Roadster, namely reworking the headlights into a stacked arrangement of LEDs and relocating the pop-up spoiler behind the cabin. The retro grille and long, straight hood evoke the past, the custom exhaust, height-adjustable suspension, 21-inch wheels up front and 22-inch wheels in back, however, stray a little further from history. The 300 SLC will come with a hardtop and be one-of-a-kind, making it even rarer than its inspiration, of which 92 were made.
If you have any more questions, they can probably be answered in the high-res photo gallery above and press release below.

The UK votes for Brexit and it will impact automakers

It's the first morning after the United Kingdom voted for what's become known as Brexit – that is, to leave the European Union and its tariff-free internal market. Now begins a two-year process in which the UK will have to negotiate with the rest of the EU trading bloc, which is its largest export market, about many things. One of them may be tariffs, and that could severely impact any automaker that builds cars in the UK. This doesn't just mean companies that you think of as British, like Mini and Jaguar. Both of those automakers are owned by foreign companies, incidentally. Mini and Rolls-Royce are owned by BMW, Jaguar and Land Rover by Tata Motors of India, and Bentley by the VW Group. Many other automakers produce cars in the UK for sale within that country and also export to the EU. Tariffs could damage the profits of each of these companies, and perhaps cause them to shift manufacturing out of the UK, significantly damaging the country's resurgent manufacturing industry. Autonews Europe dug up some interesting numbers on that last point. Nissan, the country's second-largest auto producer, builds 475k or so cars in the UK but the vast majority are sent abroad. Toyota built 190k cars last year in Britain, of which 75 percent went to the EU and just 10 percent were sold in the country. Investors are skittish at the news. The value of the pound sterling has plummeted by 8 percent as of this writing, at one point yesterday reaching levels not seen since 1985. Shares at Tata Motors, which counts Jaguar and Land Rover as bright jewels in its portfolio, were off by nearly 12 percent according to Autonews Europe. So what happens next? No one's terribly sure, although the feeling seems to be that the jilted EU will impost tariffs of up to 10 percent on UK exports. It's likely that the UK will reciprocate, and thus it'll be more expensive to buy a European-made car in the UK. Both situations will likely negatively affect the country, as both production of new cars and sales to UK consumers will both fall. Evercore Automotive Research figures the combined damage will be roughly $9b in lost profits to automakers, and an as-of-yet unquantified impact on auto production jobs. Perhaps the EU's leaders in Brussels will be in a better mood in two years, and the process won't devolve into a trade war. In the immediate wake of the Brexit vote, though, the mood is grim, the EU leadership is angry, and investors are spooked.

Weekly Recap: Jaguar takes a leap with price cut, new strategy

Jaguar was one of the famous automotive props and plotlines in the now-iconic drama Mad Men. There's a scene where the show's protagonist, Don Draper, deftly undercuts an influential Jaguar dealer by indicating that get-me-in-the-door local radio spots would be an effective way to sell cars like the slinky E-Type. The British executives think this is folly – Draper knows they will – and his advertising strategy wins out over the dealer's approach to move the metal. Jaguar's not doing that, but half a century later in the real world the company is launching plans to make its cars more attainable to new and younger customers like Millenials. These aren't coupons, but this is a leap for Jaguar, which has long banked on sexy styling and its rich motorsports history to overshadow its past mechanical flaws. Put simply, Jaguar is addressing the reasons why people, especially the younger set, don't buy its cars. The 2017 XE will start at $35,895 when it launches next spring – which makes it an attractive buy for a successful, relatively young person. When it's time to move up, the redesigned XF will be more attainable, coming in at $52,895, which is $5,275 less than the 2015 model. The flagship XJ sedan and the enthusiast-oriented F-Type sports car will also get thousands of dollars worth of added standard features, and Jag is actively pitching them as a better value than their competitors. "The Jaguar brand is on the eve of a major transformation that will see it dramatically increase its presence in the United States luxury marketplace with an expanded lineup, pricing focused on the core of the luxury market, and an all-new ownership package with best-in-class coverage," Joe Eberhardt, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover North America, said in a statement. The brand's quality and reliability dings have also lurked in the back of buyers' minds for decades, though that's an outdated notion. Jaguar placed third in J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study in June and was the top-ranked luxury brand in J.D. Power's Customer Service Index in March. Not content, the company is rolling out an enhanced program called Jaguar EliteCare that launches on 2016 models. It offers a five-year, 60,000-mile limited warranty, the longest among its competitors, with free scheduled maintenance during that period. The plan also covers roadside assistance and connectivity features.