Mercedes-Benz C 111

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C 111 in the Mercedes-Benz Museum

The C 111 series consisted of prototypes and experimental vehicles in the 1960s and 1970s. Mercedes-Benz experimented with new types of engines and plastic bodies.

The C 111 platform was used as a test vehicle for tests with rotary and diesel engines and turbochargers . In addition, the company experimentally equipped the sports car with gullwing doors , pop-up headlights , a luxurious leather interior and air conditioning .

Models

Type version I

C 111-I hermaphrodite with type 2 rear section

The first C 111 was completed in 1969. It had a body made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic and a three-disc rotary engine with gasoline injection as a mid-engine . For months, secret photos of Erlkönigen were published in the relevant trade magazines such as auto motor und sport and speculations were made about the secret development of a Mercedes super sports car and its performance data. The body of the first C 111 was more like a stopgap solution and less a design model, as expected from the Swabian car manufacturer, which at the time was generally considered to be perfectionist; Nevertheless, this led to speculation of unimaginable proportions: shortly after the publication of photos showing a mid-engine car with the legendary gullwing doors reminiscent of the 300 SL, the first orders were received in Untertürkheim, which were even accompanied by signed blank checks. But the poor quality of workmanship - the plastic body was manufactured by an external wagon factory - and the lack of stability of the three-disc motor stood in the way of series production from the start.

Type version II

C 111-II

The C 111-II, which is best known to the public today, was presented at the International Motor Show in Geneva in March 1970. The body has been completely redesigned to reduce lift on the front axle and improve cooling. While contemporary racing sports cars such as the Porsche 917-10 or Lola T70 could not do without spoilers and wings on the racetrack, Daimler-Benz AG boasted that it achieved the required downforce through intelligent designs alone. The C 111-II had a four-rotor Wankel engine with an output of 257 kW (350  hp ). This enabled it to reach a top speed of 290 km / h.

Mercedes-Benz decided against series production due to problems with stability and service life as well as the described quality defects in production. It was decided to only use the C 111 internally as a test vehicle and then experimented with diesel engines. The main reason for this was the 1973 oil crisis . For this purpose, the C 111-II was equipped with a five-cylinder turbodiesel engine ( Mercedes-Benz OM 617 ) with an output of 140 kW (190 hp) and a displacement of 3 liters. The converted car had the serial number 31. It broke all speed and acceleration records for diesel engines on June 12, 1976.

The C 111-II broke 16 records on the high-speed track in Nardò in southern Italy (see table), 13 of them for diesel vehicles; for example, a continuous drive of 10,000 miles was completed at an average speed of 252 km / h.

Type version III

C 111-III

A further revised version of the C 111 reached the 320 km / h mark in Nardò in 1978 and achieved an average speed of 316 km / h during a twelve-hour drive . Due to a significant aerodynamic revision of the body, the C 111-III achieved a value of 0.183.

The performance of the five-cylinder turbo diesel engine has been further increased at the expense of service life. The valve seat angle was designed to be extremely acute in order to reduce flow resistance and maximize performance. A boost pressure control was dispensed with and the turbocharger was designed for maximum performance.

Type version IV

C 111-IV

The aerodynamically further optimized version of C 111-IV had a supercharged twin turbocharged V8 -Ottomotor ( Mercedes-Benz M117 ) with 90 ° cylinder assembly, 4,820 cc engine capacity , 368 kW (500 hp) and 599 Nm of torque and a compression ratio of 6: 1.

This car set further records on May 5, 1979. On the track in Nardò, Italy, it achieved the record speed for circuits of 403.978 km / h.

World records

The following records were set on the Italian high-speed test track Nardò :

Records with the C 111-II diesel

distance speed distance speed Duration speed
10 km 220.619 km / h 10 miles 227.353 km / h 1 h 253.770 km / h
100 km 251.148 km / h 100 miles 252.875 km / h 6 h 252.578 km / h
500 km 254.086 km / h 500 miles 252.930 km / h 12 h 253.616 km / h
1,000 km 253.307 km / h 1000 miles 252.737 km / h 24 hours 253.030 km / h
5,000 km 252.903 km / h 5,000 miles 252.540 km / h
(world record)
10,000 km 252.249 km / h
(world record)
10,000 miles 251.798 km / h
(world record)

Records with the C 111-III diesel

distance speed distance speed Duration speed
100 km 316.484 km / h 100 miles 319.835 km / h 1 h 321.843 km / h
500 km 321.860 km / h 500 miles 320.788 km / h 6 h 317.796 km / h
01,000 km 318.308 km / h 01,000 miles 319.091 km / h 12 h 314.463 km / h

The whereabouts of the C 111 test vehicle

Chassis
number
Type version Whereabouts
21st with makeshift body scrapped
22nd Version I. scrapped on May 8, 1972
23 Version I. On loan to the Langenburg Automobile Museum
24 Version I. Total loss on January 29, 1970 in Hockenheim
24a Version I chassis with Version II body no information
25th Version I. Exhibition vehicle, scrapped on January 17, 1974
26th Version I. Mercedes Benz Museum
31 Version II Mercedes Benz Museum
32 Version II Mercedes Benz Museum
33 Version II Mercedes Benz Museum
34 Version II Mercedes Benz Museum
35 Version II Mercedes Benz Museum
36 Version II Mercedes Benz Museum

A similar model was the C 112 presented in 1991 , which also never went into series production.

See also

Web links

Commons : Mercedes-Benz C 111  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Sebastian Viehmann: A car like a spaceship . In: The time . June 19, 2010 (Note: 1 country mile = 1,609.344 m)
  2. ^ Rainer Roßbach: Mercedes-Benz C 111-III: Records with diesel power . In: Prova . August 23, 2004.
  3. Mercedes-Benz, Record Car Special
  4. Mercedes-Benz C 111-III . In: Classic Driver . June 1, 2003.