Unlike itself – Mercedes C112

Today, as you already understood, we will talk about Mercedes, which is completely different from its "relatives". This is an old story - it was 1991, and the German automaker was trying to get on a new, uncharted "path" for itself, and the "key" to success was supposed to be the concept car C112. However, halfway through, the automobile giant gave up.


Remarkably, the C112 wasn't even built in Germany. But that didn't stop it from gaining a lot of public attention when the new model was first unveiled at the 1991 Frankfurt International Motor Show.


After the presentation car disappeared into a private collection for a long time. And just recently, the ultra-rare car was spotted at a dealership in Germany.

Return to motorsport

The 1980s saw Mercedes make a long-awaited return to motorsport after the horrific accident of 1955. At that time, a Mercedes 300 SLR driven by Pierre Levegh went over a protective embankment and crashed into a crowd of spectators at 200 km/h, killing 83 people. It was the worst tragedy in the history of motorsport.


The C112 was assigned the role of official competitor to the prototype racing car C11 Group C, created by the Swiss manufacturer Sauber specifically for the 1990 World Championship. Therefore, the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design team under the leadership of Bruno Sacco focused all its efforts on achieving maximum aerodynamic performance for the new car.

Features of the novelty

This may also explain why Mercedes refused to use the pop-up headlights that were so popular at the time. They could simply cause aerodynamic turbulence at high speeds. At the same time, the car looks more than futuristic, and its entire appearance literally “screams” about its performance.

The main "attraction" of the C112 is the view through the rear window directly onto the brand new 6,0-liter M120 V12 engine. This power unit produces 402 horsepower and 580 Nm of torque. A six-speed manual transmission transmits all the power to the rear wheels.


The figures announced, in theory, allow this car to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4,9 seconds, developing a maximum speed of up to 309 km/h. According to the manufacturer, its supercar is capable of generating a downforce of 998 kg at maximum speed. However, there has been no confirmation of these words so far, the car has never been driven. At least publicly.

Mercedes equipped its new model with an electronically controlled front spoiler and huge gull-wing doors. The latter were operated by a servo drive using hydraulic cylinders located under the roof. This design makes their lifting quite difficult and slow. The side mirrors in this car, also for the sake of aerodynamics, are installed at the top of the front pillars.

The C 112 rides on five-spoke, 18-inch Speedline magnesium wheels, which Mercedes has never used before. Stopping power is provided by ventilated cast-iron Brembo brakes with four-piston calipers at the front and rear.

As a result, thanks to all the tricks taken, the drag coefficient of the Mercedes-Benz C 112 was only 0,30, which was the best indicator at that time.


As for the interior of the C 112, it is surprisingly very driver-friendly. It has heated leather seats with electric drive, air conditioning and automatic climate control, GPS navigation and power steering. The manufacturer also used such innovative technologies as ABS and ASR. In addition, this is the first Mercedes car with Active Body Control - an automatic suspension adjustment system.

Things didn't go any further.

After the debut presentation of the C 112, Mercedes received more than 700 preliminary orders for the car. However, it never went into mass production. The company's management, having assessed the production costs, did not dare to give the project the green light.