The Isdera Commendatore 112i was a concept car built by the small German manufacturer Isdera and shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1993. It was meant to succeed the Imperator 108i, but money ran out and only one car was finished. The car is named after Enzo Ferrari, whom Italians called Il Commendatore.
Isdera Commendatore 112i at a glance
| Maker | Isdera, Leonberg, Germany |
|---|---|
| Shown | Frankfurt Motor Show, 1993 |
| Body | fibreglass on a tubular steel spaceframe |
| Engine | 6.0-litre Mercedes-Benz M120 V12 |
| Power | 300 kW (408 PS) at 5,200 rpm |
| Torque | 580 N·m at 3,800 rpm |
| Gearbox | six-speed manual based on a Ruf five-speed |
| Suspension and brakes | Porsche 928 components |
| Wheels | 18-inch gold BBS; 255/35 ZR18 front, 295/35 ZR19 rear |
| Drag coefficient | 0.306, measured in the Mercedes-Benz wind tunnel |
| Built | one prototype, plus a second unofficial car |
| Auction price, 2021 | €1,113,125 at RM Sotheby’s, Paris |
History of the Isdera Commendatore 112i
A successor to the Imperator
The Imperator 108i went out of production in 1993, and Isdera was already working on its replacement. The first clay models took shape in 1989 and development carried on through 1993. The car was named in honour of Enzo Ferrari, known in Italy as Il Commendatore, or Knight Commander. Its sleek shape drew on Group C racing cars, and Eberhard Schulz, the company’s founder, brought in engineers and technicians from Mercedes-Benz, with the company’s approval, to help develop it. There were plans to race the car at Le Mans, which helped explain the long tail, but the idea never came to anything. The finished prototype was presented at the 1993 Frankfurt Motor Show.
Engineering
The 112i had a hand-built fibreglass body on a tubular steel spaceframe, gullwing doors and a gullwing engine cover. The chassis used Porsche 928 suspension and brakes, with 330 mm discs at the front and 305 mm at the rear, and the headlamps came from the Porsche 968. The engine was Mercedes-Benz’s 6.0-litre M120 V12, later used in the SL600 AMG and the Pagani Zonda S. Because the M120 was designed for an automatic gearbox, Isdera modified it with its own flywheel and a Bosch ECU to take a six-speed manual derived from a Ruf five-speed unit. Output was 300 kW (408 PS) at 5,200 rpm and 580 N·m at 3,800 rpm.
Aerodynamics and interior
The car had a flat underbody, a periscope rear-view mirror carried over from the Imperator instead of side mirrors, and a drag coefficient of 0.306 measured in the Mercedes-Benz wind tunnel. A velocity-sensitive chassis developed with BBS and Bilstein lowered the body by 76 mm at high speed, and an electronically controlled airbrake rose upright under braking to act as a wind deflector. Inside there were two-tone blue and black leather, RECARO sports seats and Mercedes-Benz instruments, with a speedometer reading to 400 km/h. Wide door sills housed the two fuel tanks.
One car, then a second
Isdera planned a limited production run, with six months’ work quoted for each car, but the car was not even driveable when it was shown. Development reportedly cost €4,000,000, and the collapse of the Japanese bubble economy, which had supplied much of the investment, pushed the company into bankruptcy soon afterwards. Swiss investors bought the company and Schulz completed the car so that it could be driven on the road. A second subframe was finished before the closure and later bought by an enthusiast, who also acquired the original body moulds and built another car with Schulz over six years; it is finished in Light Ivory with a light grey interior and a side-exit exhaust.
In 1999 a Swiss businessman had the original car updated and renamed Silver Arrow C112i, with conventional side mirrors, silver five-spoke Mercedes wheels, a 6.9-litre M120 V12 of 455 kW (619 PS) and Mercedes-Benz badging; it appeared at the 1999 Frankfurt show. Albert Klöti bought it for €1,500,000, kept it for five years and offered it on eBay for US$3,000,000 in 2005 without success. It went back to Isdera in 2016 and was restored to its original form and name. On 13 February 2021 the car sold at RM Sotheby’s in Paris for €1,113,125.
Design and features
- Gullwing doors and engine cover: both open upwards, in the manner of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL.
- Mercedes-Benz M120 V12: 6.0 litres, 408 PS, paired with a six-speed manual adapted by Isdera.
- Active aerodynamics: a velocity-sensitive chassis that dropped the body by 76 mm and an airbrake that rose under braking.
- Low drag: a flat underbody and long tail gave a Cd of 0.306 in the Mercedes-Benz wind tunnel.
- Periscope mirror: a roof bulge instead of door mirrors, carried over from the Imperator 108i.
Isdera Commendatore 112i versions
- Commendatore 112i (1993): the single works prototype, later restored.
- Second Light Ivory car: assembled unofficially from a spare subframe and the original moulds.
- Silver Arrow C112i (1999): the original car rebodied in silver with a 6.9-litre V12 and Mercedes badging, later restored to 112i form.
The 112i was meant to replace the Imperator 108i, and it followed the earlier Spyder in the Isdera range. More cars are in the Isdera collection.
Sources
- Isdera Commendatore 112i, English Wikipedia: development, engineering, later history
- Isdera, German Wikipedia: company history and model timeline
