Mercedes-Benz : We drive Mercedes’ first troublesome foray into mid-engined exotica, the stunning rotary C111
, CAR looks back to the time we drove the car on which it was based; the legendary C111. Read our full drive of the car, taken from our September 2020 issue below.Officially the C111 was always an experimental car; a rolling test bed for new materials, new shapes and new components.
At 4440mm long, 1825mm wide and just 1120mm high, the Mercedes was also small – about the size of today’s Porsche 911, but with much shorter overhangs. Rudi Uhlenhaut, Mercedes’ great test development engineer, undoubtedly set out to build the world’s best sports car. Matthias Chwal, the mechanic who rebuilt the car when M-B Classic decided they wanted a reliable and fully functional roadgoing C111, opens the wide gullwing door for me, and warns me to watch my head on its lower edge. Once committed, you then have to slide across the expansive body sill, being careful to avoid the greasy door lock in the sill, and you find a perfect driving position.
There’s a note stuck on the dash that suggests a 75mph maximum speed. After all, this C111 does spend most of its time in a museum, However, despite the car’s value, I’m told to ignore the note. In four-rotor form, back in 1970, the C111 must have felt ridiculously fast. Yet the ride is beautifully composed and the new suspension’s anti-dive geometry, which would make it on to all production Mercedes cars, really works, though there is bodyroll in tight corners. The brakes, the same vented four-wheel discs developed for the heavyweight 300 SEL 6.3, are strong, progressive and reasonably weighted.
Stretching the V8 out to 6000rpm, I can’t believe my confidence levels – especially given its value – as I fling the Mercedes around, balancing its attitude on the throttle, the engine’s power flooding the rear wheels that, nominally, carry 55 per cent of the car’s weight.
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