Mercedes-Benz is filled with brilliant minds that have accomplished so many things over the years. They figured out how to make a hot-rod SUV sell well enough to last multiple generations. They managed to find room under the hood of a small sedan sedan in which to fit a giant 6.2-liter V8. They even created a four-door coupe with the CLS.
Back in the early ’70s, they also found a way to make a concept that was completely visually different from other Mercedes-Benzes yet desirable to those faithful to the brand, including Jay Leno. The C111-II in the video below is a sleek and distinctive stunner. No wonder people offered to send Mercedes-Benz blank checks just to own one.
That’s what makes the gull-winged C111-II such a disappointment, though. Mercedes-Benz never manufactured a production version of it, no matter how much would-be customers offered to pay for it or how many engine options were tried. The car just wasn’t meant to be. If the Wankel engine’s reliability wasn’t an issue, its fuel economy was. If the gas crisis wasn’t complicating things, the shock of the C111’s fiberglass bodywork was.
At least Mercedes-Benz made the C111-II in some shape or form – and allowed one of them to be driven and filmed.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
