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 engi...
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Wankel Rotary
’70 MERCEDES-BENZ ‘WANKEL’ C 111 SUPERCAR
In 1972 I rode in the ’70 MERCEDES-BENZ ‘WANKEL” C 111 SUPERCAR at the Unterturkheim Proving Grounds in Germany & Hagerty’s Colin Golden just experienced the same thrill in Monterey, CA!
In 1972, I was editor of Hi-Performance CARS Magazine, above, left, and was privileged to spend a few days with Mercedes-Benz driving new cars in Monte Carlo and the Maritime Alps, and a day at Unterturkheim riding with the legendary Rudolph Uhlenhaut, top, in the C 111. Colin Golden, right, blogs a...
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MERCEDES-BENZ: C111 ROTARY ICON!
Roue Watch designer Alex lervolino blogs about the MERCEDES-BENZ: C111 ROTARY ICON!, a gullwing masterpiece that started life as a laboratory car.
Stuart Schorr, Vice-President Communications & Marketing, Jaguar Land Rover, with the C111 at Pebble Beach.
In 1969, Mercedes-Benz surpassed all expectations revealing a super sports car well ahead of its time. With gullwing doors and a Wankel rotary engine the C111 was a research vehicle that quickly became the absolute dream car of the 1970s. ...
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1970s ICON: MERCEDES-BENZ C111
At the 1969 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Stuttgart manufacturer surpassed all expectations revealing a super sports car well ahead of its time. With gullwing doors and a Wankel rotary engine, the C111 was a research vehicle that quickly became the absolute dream car of the 1970s. A dream that would never come true to consumers except as die-cast model toys.
Although prior rumors were that MB was creating the new Gullwing 300SL from the 1950s, from the very start, the C 111 was conceived purely as a...
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