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1969 Mercedes C111

Posted by Scott










Was reminded of Mercedes’ beautiful 1969 C111 gullwing design after their recent concept unveiling. Beautiful Pictures; I’ll go ahead and file this under “things you can’t have, ever”. I’ve always loved cars; I used to collect die-cast models when I was a kid. I guess I picked the wrong thing to be obsessed with though because it’s becoming increasingly apparent that a 1959 Testa Rossa just isn’t in the cards for me.

I suppose it’s for the best though; nice cars are so impractical and besides, this is the sort of thing that has me dreaming these days. ($8700 MSRP!!! why do you torture us?) I feel like we as designers sort of got a raw deal; we’ll never be able to afford what our taste dictates as acceptable to us (except for that one guy who redesigned the Louis Vuitton monogram maybe? He could probably buy the car and the guy driving it). And then you see MTV Cribs and these people’s houses look like they hired Scarface and the set designer from Full House to do their interiors.

More images here

17 Comments Leave A Comment

4

Joshua Schnable says:

March 4, 2010 at 7:43 am

That second photo down – they really nailed the design of the back of the car. My wife and I were lamenting the death of chrome bumpers the other day – that little strip in there is nice. And that last photo, right before the vid! The whole car looks ready to leap forward (and into my garage, no?).

Also, Scott, hadn’t pegged you as a watcher of Cribs… or MTV in general. :-)

5

AJJB says:

March 4, 2010 at 8:35 am

The guy who designed this is now selling cheesy oil paintings out of a small town in Germany. It’s sad that a guy with his vision and talent basically went out of business while others make millions selling hollow bling. Don’t get me wrong, the world is amazing, but mostly it’s all ruined by the stupid masses.

He managed to make other inspiring cars though: http://www.isdera.de/

6

AJJB says:

March 4, 2010 at 8:44 am

Oh and Scott: If you want to watch a series about housing that features people who (for the most part) think about what they are doing, have a look at Grand Design on channel 4 in the UK. Or on channel torrent/rapidshare on the Internet.

9

sebastian says:

March 5, 2010 at 3:31 pm

Your last comment about money and taste reminded me of the following quote by Thomas Guthrie: “…and you may know how little God thinks of money by observing on what bad and contemptable characters he often bestows it.” ;)

10

Chris says:

March 6, 2010 at 10:46 am

Yeah, artists/designers get such a raw deal. I’ve adjusted to living with my meager salary, but I’ll never get accustomed to seeing someone with the means and no taste. Its like a slap in the face.

11

Chris says:

March 6, 2010 at 10:46 am

Yeah, artists/designers get such a raw deal. I’ve adjusted to living with my meager salary, but I’ll never get accustomed to seeing someone with the means and no taste. Its like a slap in the face.

12

Paul Gataaura says:

March 7, 2010 at 10:40 am

Wow, what a fantastic vision… like you Scott, I grew up collecting die cast models of cars and it was visions like this Merc that made me want to be a car designer. My all time favourite concept has to be the Alpha Romeo carabo… and when I saw the the link to the Benedict Redgrove photos I was taken back to my childhood.

Now, at the tender age of 39, I’m still dreaming of designing beautiful objects and experiences… and one day wishing to make the lucky break which will let me drive a piece of automotive art :)

But at least we have your blog to keep us inspired and keeping our daily dose of beauty…. I have only recently found your site, but it has now become my daily read… keep it all coming… and stay cool and funky

13

TransWarpDrive says:

April 22, 2010 at 9:02 pm

I first learned of this four-wheeled beauty back when I was in junior high school (back in late 1972). Mazda was successfully selling its rotary-engined cars here in the U.S., and while researching the Wankel engine I discovered the C-111. It was love at first sight; one of my fondest boyhood fantasies was to own one of these beauties – specifically, the C-111 Mk II (the version shown in your top photo). Too bad it was only meant as an experimental car….
Anyway, thank you, Scott, for sharing these photos with us.

14

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