Car and Motorcycle: 1995 Lotec C1000 Mercedes-Benz

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

1995 Lotec C1000 Mercedes-Benz

Before there was the Bugatti Veyron, there was the 1995 Lotec Mercedes-Benz C1000, a one-off technological tour de force capable of 268 mph. The number 1,000 in its name stands for the horsepower output. Haven't heard of it? Well, it's been keeping a low profile all these years, but soon it's going up for auction, along with a number of other rare supercars.

The Lotec Mercedes-Benz C1000 was created for a customer from the United Arab Emirates who wanted to have the fastest car in the world. Race-car maker Lotec obliged, wrapping a twin-turbo 5.6-liter Mercedes-Benz V8 engine in a sleek carbon-fiber body, with power being channeled to the rear wheels via a five-speed Hewland transmission. Along with 1,000 hp, the mid-engined Lotec served up 732 lb-ft of forque and was capable of reaching 60 mph in just 2.8 seconds. Hitting 125 mph takes only 8.1 seconds, figures more commonly associated with 0-60 times of some V8 sedans of the time. The 2,381-pound weight puts this car into the featherweight category even today, and that's one of the reasons it is said to be able to do 268 mph. We guess we'll have to wait till next year's Gumball Rally to see if it'll really do that speed (on the laughably small chance that it will be entered in any rallies at all).
Just one example was built, with the total production cost said to have been close to $2.2 million. We don't know about you, but we'd call that a bargain, given the performance figures and the bespoke engineering and design. Would a 268-mph supercar designed and built from scratch today cost $2.2 million, even adjusted for today's money? We doubt it. And VW Automotive Group lost money