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Isdera Commendatore 112i - a super sports car that was lost in time

Name: Isdera Commendatore 112i 1993
Brand: Isdera

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Created on December 23, 2020

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Rémi Dargegen - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

Rémi Dargegen - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - can be opened almost completely, the front trunk holds 200 liters

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - even the width of 1.875 meters is no longer exceptional today

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - the headlights are from the Porsche 968, the windshield wiper from the ICE

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - the engine sits in the middle, as do the passengers

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - the four hinged doors are held in place by gas pressure dampers

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - wonderful insight into the technology and construction

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - only 1.04 meters high

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - a sculpture of a car

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - four gullwing doors, not everyone has that

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - back then it was called cab-forward design because the crew sat so far forward

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - with extended headlights

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - roadworthy Le Mans longtail

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - looks very fast even when stationary

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - with a length of 4.665 meters, the car is more compact than you might think

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - compared to the angular Imperator, the 112i has a much rounder shape

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - around 340 km/h, with road approval

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - only a few people ever had the pleasure of driving this unique car

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - the Sparco steering wheel was not yet available in 1993

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - lots of leather, no carbon

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - it was also shown in this color combination for the first time in 1993

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - Mercedes-Benz supplied some parts of the interior

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - Mercdedes instruments like in an E-Class

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - Blaupunkt Bremen radio tape recorder

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - you can still shift gears by hand here

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - Recaro seats and six-point seat belts

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - the Getrag 6-speed gearbox is installed behind the V12

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - appetizingly presented V12 engine from Mercedes

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - the tubular frame is made of ST 37 steel

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - the six-liter V12 engine

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - cooling here

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - Nameplate

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - the famous rear-view mirror in the roof

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - you look up through the window into the rear-view mirror

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - the eagle adorned all Isdera sports cars as a trademark right from the start

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - combination rearlight from the Hella range

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - the rear spoiler folds out automatically

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B+B CW 311 (1980) - well-known study, on show for the first time in Geneva - Geneva Motor Show 1980

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Isdera Imperator 108i (1986) - next to it the Spider, which is now available with a Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 engine - Geneva Motor Show 1986

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Isdera Spyder 033i (1983) - makes motorcycle and car fans dream - at the 1983 Geneva Motor Show

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Isdera Imperator 108i (1990) - developed on the basis of the CW311 concept car from 1978

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Isdera Imperator 108i - Eberhard Schulz presents an attractive gullwing mid-engined car costing around DM 0.5 million at the 1984 Geneva Motor Show

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Isdera Imperator 108i (1985) - tubular frame construction - production now underway - IAA 1985

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Isdera Imperator 108i (1985) - behind it the Spyder 033i - production started piecemeal - Geneva Motor Show 1985

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Isdera Commendatore 112i (1993) - one-off super sports car

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Isdera commendatore 112i (1997) - V12 engine from Mercedes, 620 hp output - Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2017

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Isdera commendatore 112i (1997) - a real super sports car with a top speed of 342 km/h - Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2017

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Isdera commendatore 112i (1997) - with BBS rims - Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2017

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Isdera commendatore 112i (1997) - roundish elements dominate - Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2017

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Isdera commendatore 112i (1997) - beautifully drawn Isdera trademark - Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2017

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Isdera commendatore 112i (1997) - unusual solution for the rear-view mirror - Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2017

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Isdera commendatore 112i (1997) - an attraction in the palace park - you wouldn't know it had a 200-liter trunk and even air conditioning - Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2017

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Summary

It looks like it was built for the Hunaudières straight at Le Mans and indeed the Isdera Commendatore 112i was considered the fastest German sports car ever in 1993, but its genesis was difficult and its clock ran out before it could really show its talent. This vehicle report traces the history of the mid-engined sports car and shows all its evolutionary stages.

This article contains the following chapters

Schulz, the car enthusiast
Realization of a childhood dream
Presentation at the IAA in 1993
First customer in 1999
Back to the beginning

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

It looks like it was built for the Hunaudières straight at Le Mans and indeed the Isdera Commendatore 112i was once considered the fastest German sports car ever, but its genesis was difficult and its clock ran out before it could really show its talent. Eberhard Schulz was not a theorist, but rather a practitioner. This was perhaps also the reason why he dropped out of his mechanical engineering studies. In his spare time, he built his first own sports car, the Erator GT, visually modeled on the Ford GT40, but with much better technology. He drove this car to Mercedes-Benz and Porsche in 1971 to apply for a job. He was actually able to talk to members of the management of both companies and Porsche was satisfied with the self-built sports car reference and hired the now 31-year-old car enthusiast.

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