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Mercedes Benz C111 - four-disc rocket from Untertürkheim

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Created on April 1, 1970

Text:

Heinz Kranz

Photos:

Daimler AG

34

Archiv

8

Daimler AG

34

Archiv

8

Mercedes Benz C111 (1970) - on the steep bend in Untertürkheim

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Mercedes Benz C111 (1970) - on the cover of 'hobby' magazine

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Mercedes Benz C111 (1970) - the C111/II version attractively presented

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1969) - three generations, left C111/I from 1969, right C111/II from 1970, behind it the first prototype version for the C111/I

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1969) - Version 1 can be recognized by the trapezoidal auxiliary headlights

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1969) - on the driveway in Untertürkheim

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1969) - Type I three-disc inverter engine

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1969) - C111/I with three-disc Wankel engine and around 250 hp

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1969) - Cockpit of the first version as presented at the IAA Frankfurt 1969

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1969) - Transparency drawing of the type C111/1

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - Sketch of the C111/II

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - Sketch of the C111/II

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1969) - the designers arrived at the final design via various plasticine models

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1969) - Wind tunnel tests with 1 to 5 scale model

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1969) - as early as 1969, wind tunnel tests were carried out to determine the wind resistance of the C111/II, and the Cd value was improved to 0.325

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1969) - the car is optimized in the wind tunnel before its presentation at the IAA

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1969) - Test drives on the Hockenheimring

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1969) - Test drives with the three-disc Wankel engine at the Hockenheimring

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1969) - Test drives on the Hockenheimring

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1969) - together with the prototype and the C111-II from 1970

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - three versions of the Wankel sports car - C111/II front, C1111/I right, early prototype left

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - the last modifications for the second variant C111/II are carried out on this model

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - Development study

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - the first version was shown at the IAA 1969, an improved version at the Geneva Motor Show 1970

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - on the driveway in Untertürkheim

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - Version II with four-disc Wankel engine

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - design icon of the seventies

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - in the steep wall of the driveway in Untertürkheim

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - could compete with the Italians in terms of beauty

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - German Federal President Walter Scheel visits Daimler Benz AG in 1974 and looks at the C111/II

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - Fittings of the C111/II version

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - Dashboard, taken at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - Cockpit of the four-disc Wankel version C111/II

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - Transparency drawing of the C111/II version

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - with special luggage set that fitted into the stowage space behind the four-pane sway bar

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - stowed special luggage set in the four-disc Wankel car

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Mercedes-Benz C 111/70 (1970) - an idea on trial - the prototype is for experimental purposes only - Geneva Motor Show 1970

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Mercedes-Benz C 111/70 (1970) - now with four-disc Wankel engine - Geneva Motor Show 1970

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Mercedes-Benz C 111/70 (1970) - Instruments grouped in the shape of an angle - Geneva Motor Show 1970

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Mercedes-Benz C 111/70 (1970) - the openings are intended to increase the ground pressure - Geneva Motor Show 1970

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Mercedes-Benz C 111/70 (1970) - Four-disc Wankel engine with Bosch direct injection and 350 DIN hp - Geneva Motor Show 1970

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Mercedes Benz C 111 (1970) - Four-stroke operation of the four-disc type II Wankel engine

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Summary

In 1969, Mercedes presented the first C111 with a three-disc Wankel engine, followed in 1970 by the presentation of the second version with 350 hp and a four-disc Wankel engine. The magazine 'hobby' was allowed to drive it and was enthusiastic about the almost production-ready mid-engined sports car prototype. The future belonged to the Wankel engine and the plastic body, they said at the time. This article reproduces the original wording of the driving report at the time and shows the C111/I and C111/II models in many archive photos.

This article contains the following chapters

The Wankel asserts itself
No series production plans
Better to understate
Is the Wankel already perfect?
No concerns about environmental friendliness
Consistent development and testing
Plastic bodies as a second field of development
Focus on aerodynamics
Consistently further developed
Safe to drive
Even comfortable
Series of 500 planned?
Not behind the moon!
Technical data

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

One of the tasks of the chronicler is to chase after progress, analyze it and place it in a value system. So it was more than a gesture that the first drive in the first series-produced automobile with a Wankel engine took the hobby tester to Gottlieb Daimler's memorial in Bad Cannstatt, the historic place where the first high-speed petrol engine turned its 500 to 900 rpm." I wrote these words seven years ago in an earnest effort to build a bridge between Gottlieb Daimler and Felix Wankel. Today I could repeat the visit with a Mercedes Wankel, but there is no need, because the connection between Daimler, Benz and Wankel is perfect.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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