I remember a few months back, some spy photographers snapped up a picture where Mercedes designers and engineers were seen testing Ferrari road cars.  Could this be the fruit of that testing?  Maybe, the Vision SLR's is  designed to be a direct competitor to the Ferrari 550 Maranello, which complete with a 6-speed manual transmission, could do a zero to 60 second-run  in 4.7 seconds.  The Ferrari's  torque is only 578 Nm at 5000 rpm and  top speed is equal  at 320 km/h. 

The Vision SLR is slated not to replace the company's already fast SL and CL coupes, but rather it is aimed at a higher, sportier audience (though the platform and the running gear is heavily based on the next-generation SL).  The interior is also a break for standard Mercedes fare. 

The main speedometer and tachometer gets nostalgic treatment that echo the original SL, but at the same time, if looked at closely it integrates all other warning lights, fuel gauge and anything else of importance.  The leather-wrapped steering wheel echoes the same lines as that of the modern Formula One car, which is not round, but rather, squarish in design (they should have included LED shift indicators too!).

The rear slopes down quite aggressively which is further accentuated with subtle looking rear lamp clusters.