Mercedes-Benz's secret plans for a front-engine sports car positioned beneath the SLS have progressed to a decisive phase, according to representatives from the German maker. They've confirmed that the new V8-powered two-seater has been granted an official code name -- traditionally the first step toward intensive development and a production future.

The new sports car is scheduled for launch in 2014 and has a projected price of just over $100,000. The evocatively styled two-door has been conceived in a joint exercise between Mercedes-Benz's regular passenger car department and its AMG performance car division. AMG is set to assume responsibility for the car's engineering, development and testing in a move mirroring that of the SLS coupe and its forthcoming roadster sibling.

High-ranking Mercedes- Benz officials already refer to the new model as the SLC -- a name last used on a fixed-roofed version of the fourth-generation SL, produced between 1971 and 1981. Unlike that car, though, the modern-day SLC is set to receive its own unique exterior and interior design. The coupe version, depicted here, will be followed in 2016 by a fabric-roofed roadster variant. However, in a move aimed at ensuring that its development and production costs are kept in check, the new SLC is earmarked to share various mechanical and electrical components with next year's seventh-generation SL.

Buoyed by the success of the SLS -- both commercially and in terms of image building for the rest of the range -- Mercedes-Benz's management sees the SLC as the next logical step in cementing plans for a two-tier lineup of performance cars wearing the three-pointed star: those based on regular models and a more exclusive lineup of dedicated cars.

One of the key rivals for the SLC will be the Porsche 911. Members of the AMG engineering team involved in the early development strategy describe the 911 Carrera S as being an obvious dynamic benchmark. But they've also revealed that the Aston Martin V8 Vantage is among a group of cars already pinpointed as competitors.

There was speculation that Mercedes had ditched early plans to provide the car with a front-engine layout in favor of a midengine architecture. However, this has been strenuously denied by high-ranking sources. "Mercedes-Benz has no history of midengine road cars," said an insider. "We have occasionally toyed with the idea in various concept cars. But when you look back, the company is defined by its front-engined sports cars, such as the original SL."

The styling of the SLC has been developed by a close-knit group of in-house designers at the company's Sindelfingen studio near Stuttgart. Among those involved is British-born designer Mark Featherstone.-- reporting by Greg Kable, Autocar