This beautiful Mercedes-Benz was one of the most innovative cars of the 1970s

c111 mb
Mercedes-Benz

One of the most amazing Mercedes-Benzes ever engineered is one you've probably never heard of.

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When you think of iconic Mercedes-Benzes from the late '60s or early '70s, cars like the 600 Pullman or maybe the 300 SEL 6.3 likely come to mind.

What we have here is the C 111. It's a crazy looking, super-sleek, gullwinged, rotary-powered test car project that Mercedes-Benz began developing in 1967.

The C 111 was originally built so that Mercedes could learn more about different up and coming car innovations. Specifically, glass-fiber-reinforced plastic materials used for use in exterior body panels and also also the then-newish rotary-style engine. 

At least that's how it started. 

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Though there was a ton of talk and high-praise surrounding the C 111 when it first debuted in Frankfurt in 1969, Mercedes-Benz claims it never had any intention to bring the car to market.

 C 111 II with four rotor Wankel enigne, 1970
Mercedes-Benz

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

The 1970 prototype, known as the C111-I, used a three-rotor Wankel rotary engine. It put out 280 horsepower and had a top speed of 167 MPH.

C 111 II with four rotor Wankel enigne, 1970
Mercedes-Benz
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The next prototype, the 1970 C 111-II, was a four-rotor Wankel rotary engine, put out 350 horsepower, and gave the car an impressive top speed of 186 MPH. It was capable of doing zero to 60 in just 4.9 seconds.

111 II with four rotor Wankel enigne
Mercedes-Benz

In comparison, a 1967 Ford GT40 Mark III did zero to 60 in 5.1 seconds.

After testing, Mercedes decided that the rotary motors weren't reliable enough to be used in its production cars.

544571b_6
Mercedes-Benz

If you're not familiar with Wankel rotary engines, you should know they're not exactly perfect.

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But wow did that C 111-II look good.

C 111 II
Mercedes-Benz

From all angles.

 C 111 II with four rotor Wankel
Mercedes-Benz
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Those trademark Mercedes Gullwing doors played a big role in making the C 111 look so good.

mb gullwing
Mercedes-Benz

It had a pretty sweet interior as well.

C 111 II D, 1976
Mercedes-Benz
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After Mercedes gave up on the Wankel rotaries, it turned to diesel engines. Meet the C 111-II D.

64 hour record C 111 IID diesel engine 1976
Mercedes-Benz

The C 111-II D used a turbocharged diesel engine to put out 190 horsepower. It was once put to the test at the Nardò Circuit in Italy where it was able to set 16 different world records.

 

Though the diesel and rotary cars were cool, the most impressive performance-wise was the last prototype which was fitted with a more standard, large, gas-drinking V8 motor.

1970 3.5L V8 C111
The prototype shown here was powered by a smaller, 3.5-liter V8 engine instead of the 4.8-liter V8 used in the final prototype. Mercedes-Benz
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The last car with the big gas motor was able to hit almost 251 MPH on a closed race track. Speeds like that are barely possible in most supercars and hypercars today.

3.5-litre V8 1970 c111
Mercedes-Benz

If you want to see one of these amazing automotive marvels in person, you're most likely going to have to travel to Stuttgart, Germany and visit the Mercedes-Benz Museum.

C 111 MB Museum
Mercedes-Benz

Just make sure they're out on display before you buy your plane ticket.

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