Mercedes C111

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Had Mercedes decided to go into production with its fabulous mid-engined C111, the supercar establishment would have been turned on its head, for this was undoubtedly superior to anything being produced by Ferrari and Lamborghini at the time. It was startlingly brutal rather than beautiful (painted orange, it looked like a giant Hot Wheels toy) with trademark gullwing doors that brought Mercedes' last supercar to mind, the gullwing 300SL. Three were built: the first two had a dual rotor Wankel engine equivalent to 3600cc and were good for 300 bhp and 170 mph. The engine was tucked down in a small space between the rear seats, driving through a five-speed ZF transaxle and flanked by the deep sills of the platform chassis, which doubled as fuel tanks. A third car had a quad rotor engine - equivalent to 4800cc - which could swish the C111 up to an effortless 187 mph. Apparently the C111 was fabulous to drive and, unlike most Italian supercars, professionally finished just like a production vehicle. A fourth C111 was built for record-breaking in 1976, and a another streamliner car in 1978, but by this time Mercedes had seen the future and it wasn't Wankel: these C111s were diesel powered.

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