"newton" (newton)
09/19/2014 at 10:00 • Filed to: mercedes, c111, germany, sighting
40
63|
"newton" (newton)
09/19/2014 at 10:00 • Filed to: mercedes, c111, germany, sighting | 40
| 63 |
[Reposted from !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a new automotive blog that presents and discusses timeless enthusiast cars with focus on German marques of old and new. Original post: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ]
These are pictures of a '70s Mercedes C111 prototype I spotted in Stuttgart two months back. What you need to know: it's not a production car, they made very few of them and holy crap what the heck is someone doing driving a C111 on public roads?!
Before I ever visited the city of Stuttgart, I was told it would be boring, industrial and full of... not a lot. "Oh, well I guess there's the Porsche and Mercedes museum there" one dull individual would tell me.
What they didn't mention is that I would have the chance to run into a friggin' Mercedes C111 driving on the street. In fact, Stuttgart felt like a mecca for car enthusiasts. I have never seen so many cool German cars just parked around curbs and in parking garages in my life. Given this, this is the first post in a small series of posts that will feature interesting cars Spotted Around Stuttgart.
I saw this C111 while walking back to the hotel after a few brews. While I didn't know much about it at the time, I knew it was a very special Mercedes (the Mercedes museum also features a similar looking but different C111; more on that in a later post). This car stopped me in my tracks and caught me with my jaw dropped. I knew instantly I had to grab my camera for a few shots.
The C111 was an experimental prototype Mercedes built in the '60s and '70s as a testbed for a number of engines and speed records. During this time, several iterations of the C111 body were developed and Mercedes tested various rotary and diesel engines within. The car was also styled as such to set speed records with some versions hitting near 200 mph at the Nardo test track. Keep in mind this was over 40 years ago.
The C111 never made it to production given that its powertrain was immature in development and didn't prove to be a reliable platform for the public.
In retrospect going through these pictures, it looks like Mercedes was setting up a nighttime photoshoot of the car. Given that we were only roughly less than a mile away from Mercedes HQ, I would venture to guess that the car was driven out only occassionally for promotional or press purposes.
Amid the recent debut of the AMG GT, it is evident Mercedes is staying true to its heritage of building beautiful high performance halo cars. But the C111 provides a glimpse and reminds us of the forward-thinking design language Mercedes had studied back in the '60s. In person, this C111 was nothing short of spectacular. For sure, it is one of the best spottings I've had this year.
Jobjoris
> newton
09/19/2014 at 10:05 |
|
So sad to know this will be the most awesome spot in your life already... What in the world is gonna top this one?
JoeLiebig
> newton
09/19/2014 at 10:05 |
|
Nice shots. What camera?
|
JoeLiebig
> newton
09/19/2014 at 10:13 |
|
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/fahrberichte/m…
Maybe you saw that German car magazine taking the car for a ride?
philipilihp
> Jobjoris
09/19/2014 at 11:33 |
|
These pics are awesome! I'm working on a 1:64 version in this orange paint scheme, so these pictures will definitely help me!
BZiel
> newton
09/19/2014 at 14:39 |
|
That is a true unicorn sighting.
You never know what you will see driving around in the Stuttgart or Sindelfingen areas.
|
newton
> JoeLiebig
09/19/2014 at 17:48 |
|
Wow nice find! Yep looks like them. Same driver.
|
newton
> Jobjoris
09/19/2014 at 17:49 |
|
LOL I do tend to be enthusiastic about seeing rare cars.
|
newton
> philipilihp
09/19/2014 at 17:49 |
|
Awesome! Post pics!
|
newton
> JoeLiebig
09/19/2014 at 17:49 |
|
Thanks. Canon 6D.
DiscoTReK
> newton
09/19/2014 at 17:54 |
|
Bangarang
RiseVbove
> newton
09/19/2014 at 17:57 |
|
Still one of the best looking cars ever. Awesome spot
YimRS13
> newton
09/19/2014 at 18:01 |
|
Ze Germans!
MFEJAL grey because who knows...
> newton
09/19/2014 at 18:01 |
|
we need to blur posts like this one. Pure, raw 100% porn. Car porn.
ps: I'm tired of the grey, can't read what others are saying.
Serpico74
> newton
09/19/2014 at 18:18 |
|
This is the car that led to the Isdera Imperator 108i, which was the car in the popular 80s video game "Spy Hunter"
|
Serpico74
> newton
09/19/2014 at 18:18 |
|
This is the car that led to the Isdera Imperator 108i, which was the car in the popular 80s video game "Spy Hunter"
rlfletch
> newton
09/19/2014 at 18:18 |
|
This could have been the Mercedes answer to the BMW M1, instead it is just a phantom. So gorgeous.
Icantthinkofanythingwitty
> Jobjoris
09/19/2014 at 18:18 |
|
It wouldn't be easy, but with 3d Printing advances it may be possible to have a lot more body variety in the very near future, so there is hope.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/26/tec…
KSEGGFTW
> newton
09/19/2014 at 18:20 |
|
I need some alone time.
J-Tenno
> Jobjoris
09/19/2014 at 18:26 |
|
I don't know... Seeing 2 C111's on the street?
|
philipilihp
> newton
09/19/2014 at 18:30 |
|
I definitely will! I'll post pics on liveandletdiecast.kinja.com and crosspost them here. I'm hoping to finish it this weekend.
Maxxuman
> JoeLiebig
09/19/2014 at 18:31 |
|
Great to see this. I remember seeing it in magazines when it first came out (yeah, I'm old). The photos here are really cool, but the ones with the article you linked to are excellent, particularly the first one and the one of the kids in the car. That Hans-Dieter Seufert really knows what he's doing!
Chaparral2F
> newton
09/19/2014 at 18:32 |
|
Heart be still. The C111 was like something out of Buck Rogers when I was a 17 year old in 1969. More, it originally had a Wankel type rotary engine. Thanks for the walk in memory lane.
55_mercury
> newton
09/19/2014 at 18:33 |
|
and it looks so much better than the crap they make today...
Chappie
> newton
09/19/2014 at 18:45 |
|
It's like a Mercedes DeLorean... I LOVE IT!
marc1220
> newton
09/19/2014 at 19:10 |
|
If I remember correctly Isdera built a version of this car. I think it was called the Imperator, it had a periscope for a rear view mirror. If I'm wrong please correct me.
bulbadox
> newton
09/19/2014 at 19:25 |
|
That MKVII Golf Wagon looks pretty sweet too...
|
newton
> marc1220
09/19/2014 at 19:31 |
|
Hmm looks like a similar but slightly different chassis. Still very cool as I only vaguely remember the Imperator.
JJS119
> Jobjoris
09/19/2014 at 19:52 |
|
One of the other prototypes in brown with a diesel and a stick?
|
marc1220
> newton
09/19/2014 at 20:01 |
|
I found a picture of it. Yup its close to it in design.
67mgb
> newton
09/19/2014 at 20:32 |
|
I agree about Stuttgart. Big city, but th
e car eye candy is excellent. After going to Zuffenhausen we went here in Stuttgart for dinner.
Max Finkel
> newton
09/19/2014 at 20:51 |
|
Which engine did this one have? Is my reading comprehension really bad enough to have missed that detail?
AMG OMG
> newton
09/19/2014 at 21:46 |
|
Uh...I think I'm in love....why, why Mercedes didn't you make more of these beautiful things!?
NG22
> newton
09/19/2014 at 22:09 |
|
Gorgeous car. Gorgeous photos.
I really wish Mercedes would build a new C111 production model. Obviously they have the GT and are reluctant to abandon the front-engine layout of their sports cars, but I think AMG could make a really compelling, advanced, and beautiful mid-engine model.
fintail
> newton
09/19/2014 at 22:10 |
|
I love Stuttgart, it's a very real city, not too big or small, not too gritty or too gentrified, it's just right. The cars in the neighborhood help a lot, too. Was this around Königstraße?
I see they have the C111 on H plates, so it's being driven now and then.
burpbeepburp
> newton
09/19/2014 at 22:21 |
|
Sir, you can't park that deliciously beautiful car there. No, Im not drooling, it's the rain. If you just lend me the keys, I'll move it to a legal parking spot. I'll be right back with the keys, I promise. Have you ever seen the American movie "Ferris Buellers Day Off"? No, good. Be right back. VROOOMMMM.....
nmalinoski
> newton
09/19/2014 at 22:33 |
|
...Bricklin?
Kevin Rhodes
> newton
09/19/2014 at 22:58 |
|
Very, very cool!
When I was picking up my car in '11 at BMW Welt, the nice lady who was presenting the car asked us where we were going on our tip. I replied, "from here, straight to Stuttgart tonight". She sort of blanched, and said that we really should stay in Munich, as Stuttgart is not very nice! LOL! Not exactly a pretty city, but the Porsche and Mercedes museums are spectacular. Mercedes in particular.
|
newton
> fintail
09/19/2014 at 23:15 |
|
I honestly have no idea. I was only there for 3 days I think.
Even cars aside, I loved Stuttgart. Very good blend of everything.
|
newton
> Kevin Rhodes
09/19/2014 at 23:20 |
|
BMW people are just close-minded. :P
TavshedFjols
> newton
09/20/2014 at 00:37 |
|
Because the Wankel engine in these revved to quickly they had a 2nd throttle pedal next to the first one which was less sensitive, so you would not over-revmatch when down shifting.
anastos
> DiscoTReK
09/20/2014 at 03:27 |
|
Dat asssssssss....daaayyyyuuuummm.
whatawookiee
> Max Finkel
09/20/2014 at 09:40 |
|
According to the article linked in the comments, it had a 200hp V8. They tried all kinds of engines in these. I believe this one should have originally had the 350hp 4-rotor Wankel. There was also a turbo diesel one, and a 500hp twin turbo V8 one.
RichardETruong
> newton
09/20/2014 at 12:11 |
|
<<< Start working at home with Google! It's by-far the best job I've had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this - 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go to tech tab for work detail
David M. Johnson
> newton
09/20/2014 at 12:11 |
|
Start working at home with Google! It's by-far the best job I've had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this - 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go? to tech tab for work detail
?????????> www.jobs700.com
herald
> newton
09/20/2014 at 13:44 |
|
Want so much it hurts!
|
Mark Out West
> newton
09/20/2014 at 13:57 |
|
German Bora.
LastScene86
> newton
09/20/2014 at 13:59 |
|
I love how the rear is basically a big tray with "rear windows." I imagine Merc engineers popping it off like a Lego brick and inserting the limited edition rotary or diesel piece.
Kevin Barrett
> newton
09/20/2014 at 15:03 |
|
This purple stuff. What is it?
|
soney gendi
> newton
09/20/2014 at 15:43 |
|
Start working at home with Google! It's by-far the best job I've had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this - 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go to tech tab for work detail
www.Jobs7000.Com
|
fintail
> newton
09/20/2014 at 16:15 |
|
If it was a pedestrian zone with many nice shops, that might have been it. The pavement makes me think of it somehow. Either way, cool spotting, I can't wait to get back there, maybe next year.
|
newton
> Kevin Barrett
09/20/2014 at 21:44 |
|
I think it's blacklight coming from that building.
Kylemaro
> newton
09/21/2014 at 03:18 |
|
its beautiful and ugly at the same time, how does it manage to do that?
|
vc-10
> newton
09/21/2014 at 07:49 |
|
what the heck is someone doing driving a C111 on public roads?!
Because it's an awesome car that deserves to be driven, not holed up in a garage somewhere.
|
The Troof
> newton
09/22/2014 at 10:47 |
|
and holy crap what the heck is someone doing driving a C111 on public roads?!
ummm…I don't know…maybe being a real G.
|
AaronC85
> newton
09/22/2014 at 18:47 |
|
high performance halo cars? where do you get that? before this was the 300SL. you can be romantic about them, but they were not quite high performance. engine from a sedan because Merc couldn't afford to do it properly, drum brakes, and rubbish handling. then this? its a prototype. then, I'm guessing you are counting the 450SEL 6.9, which was a production sedan with a larger engine. and then, the Hammers, which there are only 13 in the world. 500E? it was a joint project between Merc and Porsche. and then finally, the SLS. so in the ~55 years between their first production sports car and then SLS, there are just a few decent sports cars. there is no tradition of building high performance halo cars.
|
SkyDivingElephant
> newton
01/14/2015 at 16:48 |
|
That couple in the back is going to have the most baby destroying sex ever after seeing this thing up close.
|
rich44
> newton
01/14/2015 at 18:05 |
|
Saw one up close at the Silvretta rally in Austria, last July, They were not afraid to drive it hard
|
KingKai
> Kevin Barrett
01/14/2015 at 21:09 |
|
It's something called chromatic abberation. It happens on older camera lenses, mediocre camera lenses, and wide open camera lenses (or any combination of these).
|
Kevin Barrett
> KingKai
01/14/2015 at 23:41 |
|
No, it's not. I use several systems of camera, old and new, and watch for chromatic aberration (lateral and axial) to correct in post processing. There is an effect called "purple fringing" which occurs around specular highlights, particularly on older lenses with film-era coatings, but this is not that.
|
KingKai
> Kevin Barrett
01/15/2015 at 03:26 |
|
I use old and new lenses as well on a m43 platforms, while mainly shooting cars and portraits. I've gotten those purple blobs in a lot of images and they're very difficult to correct in lightroom without ruining the image or using photoshop.
My main issues arise with my only Canon FD 50mm when shot wide open at 1.8.
Trikso
> newton
01/15/2015 at 05:47 |
|
what the heck is someone doing driving a C111 on public roads?!
Curing the ED of all the old men it drives by
Flavien Vidal
> newton
01/15/2015 at 06:03 |
|
You mean... That MErcedes is behind the Bricklin SV-1???
TractorPillow
> newton
10/19/2015 at 08:54 |
|
Wow this is great. Thanks for sharing!