Mercedes-Benz has quite a lot of legendary passenger cars to look back upon, but the 300 SL Gullwing has got to top them all. Even today's kids know about it, and we're very much aware how much they care about things with no touchscreens.

Because now you've committed a sacrilege. You don't take the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL's name in vain, and you don't mess with its image unless you're absolutely sure you can make it better. Which, let me spare you the trouble, you can't. Well, Matthias Botcher, a transport designer from Stuttgart, Germany, thought otherwise. He came up with the concept you can see below - a modern reinterpretation of the 300 SL Gullwing - as his bachelor degree thesis. And judging by his smile in one of the pictures, he got his degree.

All jokes aside (what jokes? One does not joke about the 300 SL Gullwing), his model car - christened SL|PURE - doesn't look half-bad. Actually, if Mercedes-Benz were to present it as their second rendition of the Vision Gran Turismo thing, nobody would mind. It is a very respectable looking futuristic sports car that even manages to capture some of the more modern Mercedes-Benz styling cues.