The Mercedes-Benz C111 was a series of experimental automobiles produced by

Daimler-Benz Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a Germany, German Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is o ...

in the 1960s and 1970s. The company was experimenting with new engine technologies, including

Wankel engine The Wankel engine (, ) is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric (mechanism), eccentric Pistonless rotary engine, rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. The concept was proven by German engineer Felix Wankel, f ...

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s, and

turbocharger In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into th ...

s, and used the basic C111 platform as a testbed. Other experimental features included multi-link rear suspension,

gull-wing door In the automotive industry, a gull-wing door, also known as a falcon-wing door, McLaren anhedral door, or an up-door, is a car door that is hinged at the roof rather than the side, as pioneered by Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, first as a race car in ...

s and a luxurious interior with leather trim and

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...

History

The first version of the C111 was completed in 1969, and presented at the 1969 IAA in Frankfurt. The car used a

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

body shell and with a mid-mounted three-rotor direct

fuel injected Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of a fuel injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All co ...

(code named M950F). The next C111 appeared in 1970; it was shown at the 1970

Geneva International Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show was an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show was hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon was organised by ...

. It used a four-rotor engine producing . The car reportedly could reach a speed of . The company decided not to adopt the Wankel engine and turned to diesel experiments for the second and third C111s. The C111-IID's engine was a Mercedes-Benz OM 617, and produced at 4200 min⁻¹. It was based on the Mercedes-Benz 85 kW variant of the OM 617 used in the Mercedes-Benz W 116 S-Class, but had a different turbocharger without a wastegate, which allowed an increased pressure ratio of 3.3. Daimler-Benz also added an intercooler that significantly improved the engine's thermal efficiency. The C111 III prototype that was completed in 1978, had a more

aerodynamic Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...

bodywork that gave it an air drag coefficient of 0.195. It had a modified 3-litre version of the Mercedes-Benz OM 617 five-cylinder Diesel, now producing , and a BMEP of 1.68 MPa, resulting in a maximum torque of 401 N·m at 3600 min⁻¹. It enabled the C111 III to reach a top speed of at the

Nardò Ring The Nardò Ring, originally known as Pista di prova di Nardò della Fiat (Fiat's Nardò test track) when it was built in 1975, is a high speed test track located at more than north-west of the town of Nardò, Italy, in the southern region of A ...

in 1978, and also to average a 16 l/100 km fuel consumption at an average speed of 325 km/h. The engine was fitted with an M-type inline injection pump of Bosch's PE series with a maximum injection pressure of 40 MPa. The C111 IV had a 4.5 L twin KKK-turbocharged V8 engine that produced at 6000/min. This set another record at the Nardò Ring in 1979, with an average speed of 403.78 km/h (250.958 mph), driven by Hans Liebold. Total production was 16 cars: 13 first and second generation Wankel engined cars, two diesel engined third generation cars used in the Nardò record attempt, and a single V8 engined fourth generation car. Mercedes-Benz introduced the C112 at the

Frankfurt Motor Show The International Motor Show Germany or International Mobility Show Germany, in German known as the ''Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung'' (''IAA'' – International Automobile Exhibition), is one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs. I ...

in 1991 as a proposed production sports car. The car used a mid-mounted 6.0 L

V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-Cylinder (engine), cylinder Internal combustion engine#Reciprocating engines, piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V engine, V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more c ...

. After accepting 700 deposits, the company decided not to proceed with production.

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

Mercedes-Benz C 111
{{Mercedes-Benz C111 Cars powered by Wankel engines Automobiles with gull-wing doors Sports cars