Few Concept cars have had a longer lifespan with multiple iterations and as many engines as the MERCEDES-BENZ C 111 CONCEPT SUPERCAR.
Introduced in 1969 at the Frankfurt Auto Show with a three-rotor Wankel engine; a decade later one of a dozen built and powered with a boosted V-8 is still racking up miles. Originally designed by the legendary Bruno Sacco and developed by a team of engineers led by Rudolph “Rudi” Uhlenhaut, the first and second C 111 platforms were used to experiment with new engine technologies, including its original three-rotor Wankel, a four-rotor variant, diesel and boosted engines fitted with turbochargers. It was also a testbed for multi-link rear suspensions and gullwing doors that originally debuted on the 300 SL coupe.
MERCEDES-BENZ C 111 CONCEPT SUPERCAR was not always just a C 111, however. There were two different generations of this design, both finished in unique Mercedes-Benz Weissherbst (Orange) livery. The best known one was actually variant II, revealed at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show. Compared to the original first-generation C 111, it had a completely different front end and a series of detailed improvements.
Starting with a three-rotor Wankel, Rudi Uhlenhaut, above, the father of the 300 SLR and 300 SL, added a fourth rotor (1969/1970) before he retired in 1972 as the Director of Passenger Car Development. The four-rotor C 111-II had a top speed of 180 mph. A succession of powertrains included a turbocharged diesel in 1975 and, Its final iteration, a 4.8-liter turbocharged V-8. A racecar variant with an impressive wind-cheating front spoiler and twin tailfins was added to the mix. A total of a dozen C 111s were built!
While performance more than met its original goals and orders/reservations for a production C 111 projected a sold-out first year, the MERCEDES-BENZ C 111 CONCEPT SUPERCAR never became a production car. Fitted with both diesel and turbocharged gas-fueled V-8 engines, C 111s set a variety of speed records. A C 111 averaged 156.46 mph over 10,000 miles, a record that stood for more than two decades. The purpose-built C111-IV, the fourth and final version of the series in 1978-1979 had a redesigned body with a large front spoiler and twin tailfins. Power came from a twin-turbocharged 4.8-liter (bored-out 4.5-liter engine). In May 1979, the C 111-IV was clocked at 251.02 mph on the Nardo test track, eclipsing a record held by Mark Donohue in 1975 by approximately 30 mph!
For the complete MERCEDES-BENZ C 111 CONCEPT SUPERCAR story, please visit Petrolicious @https://petrolicious.com/articles/50-years-ago-this-week-the-mercedes-c-111-ii-debuted-at-geneva
There is a special connection between Mercedes-Benz, Rudi Uhlenhaut, the C 111, and the Schorr family. Between 1993 and 2001, our son Stuart Schorr was Mercedes-Benz Regional Communications Manager for the Northeast U.S, working out of the carmakers’ Washington DC office.
I first met Rudi Uhlenhaut during a press event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1971 when I was the editor of Hi-Performance CARS magazine, and Mercedes-Benz demonstrated prototype Anti-Lock (ABS) brakes on the new R107 Series SL 350s. The experimental SLs could be driven with conventional or ABS brakes controlled by interior switchgear. ABS brakes would not be available on production models until 1980.
There was a slalom course set up on the straight and I thought I could go through the cones as fast in an SL with regular brakes as I could when the new Anti-Lock brakes were engaged. Mr. Uhlenhaut rode shotgun with me. Of course, I was dead wrong as I started scattering cones at an alarming rate. He later gave me a verbal driving lesson on the infield. My friend and accomplished racing historian, author and photographer, Harry Hurst, had a “Rudi Uhlenhaut Taught Me How To Drive” T-Shirt made for me a couple of years ago to commemorate the occasion!
A few months later I was privileged to meet Rudi Uhlenhaut again, this time at the Mercedes Unterturkheim Proving Ground in Germany. The occasion was the introduction of 1973 models which included driving new models in Monte Carlo and through the Maritime Alps, and a stopover in Germany. The highlight of that trip was the stopover, and riding in a Wankel-engined C 111 with Rudi Uhlenhaut at the wheel. It should be noted that among the many titles he had at Mercedes, he also headed all racing development. He was also a masterful driver.
More than four decades later, I received a call from our daughter, Collier who was at the wind tunnel at the Unterturkheim Proving Ground. She was shooting the 2015 Mercedes-Benz International Fashion campaign, Champions of Fashion. The C 111 and an AMG Coupe shared the spotlight with Formula I World Champion Lewis Hamilton, driver Nico Rosberg, and model Dree Hemingway.
Photo: Collier Schorr
Here’s what Mercedes had to say about the campaign: “The leading men are the ace racers, rivals and team-mates Lewis Hamilton – Formula 1’s newly-crowned World Champion – and Nico Rosberg. Starring alongside them is one of the fashion circuit’s hottest models and actress, Dree Hemingway – who as great-granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, is herself a scion of adventure in the grand tradition. This new season paean to the siren calls of speed, sleekness and style has been masterminded by Collier Schorr, the Yale faculty member, and photographer nonpareil.”
For full coverage of the Champions of Fashion campaign, check out, https://emercedesbenz.com/autos/mercedes-benz/corporate-news/international-fashion-campaign-for-mercedes-benz/
Unfortunately, I never got a chance to drive a C 111. Over the past few years, a number of automotive journalists and magazine editors have driven C 111s at special events in Europe and the U.S. One of those journalists is Fabian Hoberg, writing in Hagerty.com @ https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/even-after-55-years-mercedes-wankel-powered-c111-is-still-a-marvel/?hashed_email=e323c71347790f699ba35a9dc01d49ac3f938885a7df6321087c8c9b4c0dd333&dtm_em=e323c71347790f699ba35a9dc01d49ac3f938885a7df6321087c8c9b4c0dd333
Photos: Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz
