Mercedes-Benz 190 E W201 C 111 Art Collection

The C 111 artwork was created by Michael Sailstorfer to satisfy the longing of owning his dream car. This creative spirit is shared by the next generation of international fashion talents at the Festival d‘Hyères villanoailles.
 

Mercedes-Benz has been toying around with the C 111 nameplate even five decades after its introduction. Following the unveiling of the One-Eleven Concept, the German automaker introduced a modern take on the experimental concept. The art car was based on the 190E (W201), the grandfather of the C-Class.
 
The C 111 art car was presented at the 38th Festival de’Hyeres in France, where Mercedes-Benz was awarding its third Sustainability Prize. The finalists’ designs were presented alongside the reinterpretation model created by Berlin-based sculptor Michael Sailstorfer. According to the artist, the 190E has been his dream car since his youth.
 

The car’s design exudes a retro-futurism appeal – reminiscent of the DMC DeLorean popularized by the Back to the Future film trilogy.
 
The new C 111 may look like it features a riveted exterior, but when taking a closer look, we see what appears to be bullet marks, reflecting the bulletproof reputation of the brand’s M102 engine. Going along with this design concept is the integration of a sheet metal panel styling, which seamlessly hides the pop-up headlights.
 
Like the original C 111, the 190E-based art car has gullwing doors. The interior still features a classic layout with physical knobs and analog gauges. The wood veneer and brown seats add a luxurious touch to the finish.
 

We just aren’t sure what engine was fitted into this particular model. But as an experimental prototype in the ’70s, the C 111 had interesting power units, including a 350-horsepower four-rotor Wankel engine and a five-cylinder turbodiesel with 228 horsepower. A V8 was also used in later versions, enabling the car to go more than 250 mph way before the Bugatti Veyron.
 
Meanwhile, the Mercedes-Benz W201 was offered with various power plants – from the ever-reliable M102 four-cylinder to the top-spec 3.2-liter AMG engines.
 
“I would like to create versatile but at the same time functioning sculptures in places, which I like,” said Sailtorfer on Mercedes-Benz’s Instagram post.