Richard Truesdell, from Automotive Traveler, has snapped some fresh spy shots of the SLR successor and future Mercedes-Benz Gullwing in the California Desert. The new super car, hailed to compete against the R8 and even the Italian super cars, is cloaked with enormous amounts of camo to conceal any details that may giveaway the final design. Like many have pointed out, the design on the test mule looks a lot like a Dodge Viper, but that’s of course not the point of a test vehicle, rather, it’s the internal parts that are important. Multiple sources have speculated that Mercedes-Benz and their AMG performance wing might equip the Gullwing with a 6.3 liter V8 with over 570Hp and an 8 speed transmission. Until we get some official specs and as we move closer to the magical date, rumored to be in 2011, we just have to rely on spy shots such as these to tell us the story.

Check out the entire gallery at Automotive Traveler