Normally, Marouane Bambi isn't shy about sprucing up many supercars or classic automobiles via his digital renderings, a quality suits his Sketch Monkey moniker to a tee. The graphic designer and YouTuber displayed no fear when he added bold features to the otherwise conservative-looking Nissan GT-R and sharpened the appearance of the 1968 Cadillac DeVille, for starters. But in a video released Tuesday, Bembi admitted to trepidation about rendering a classic: the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.
Production Version Of SLR Shows Smoother Flow
"This is something I've been putting off for I would say about two years or so now," said Bembi, "because it's a pretty intimidating task." Tampering with a classic usually comes with that nervous baggage, although the designer dug the automaker's changes from the original 1990 concept to the SLR's production version that first came out in 2003. He likes how Mercedes added a dip in the front hood where they placed the company logo and how they widened the front wings below the grille, making the look more dynamic from the concept.
Unlike the concept's horizontal slices comprising the side intakes, Bembi liked how Mercedes turned it more into a surreal grid pattern. He applauded the side exhausts otherwise absent from the original design and a smoother line flow on the SLR's contours extending to the rear. The redesign symmetrically connects to the tip of the teardrop-shaped tail lights.
Most Mercedes Redesign Takes Place In Front
Bembi likes the appearance of the SLR's rear, he hardly even touches that area, dedicating most of his work on the front with a few touch-ups on the sides. He focuses primarily on the grille area where he changes the headlight shape from circular to the same teardrop appearance as the tail lights.
The grille itself loses the vertical bars, replaced by a single horizontal bar. And while he liked the production rendition of the front intakes, he narrowed and lowered them so that the license plate doubles as a divider.
As for the sides, Bembi altered the oval mirrors to resemble the shapes of the headlights and tail lights. The side intakes also lost that grid pattern, replaced by a singular slash with the side door exteriors caving in to avoid impeding airflow.
No Clear Vision Of SLR Rendering
Granted, Bembi underwent an intimidating process, but he seems to be proud of his results. He appeared hard-pressed to come up with the inspiration for the rendering, but went at it anyway.
"This was a very, very fun project to do and something that I've been wanting to do for a long time," he said. "I didn't have a clear vision of what I wanted to do with it or how I wanted to update this beautiful design. I love the original SLR; it's one of my favorite cars of all time."
Source: The Sketch Monkey