1993 – Isdera Commendatore 112i

Eberhard Schulz was a German car designer… Thank you for your time and see you in two weeks.
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… Nah, I was joking, of course. I mention Mr. Schulz, as he is one of the more talented personas in the automotive industry. And you don’t have to trust my word – the facts speak for him quite enough. The man got a job offer at Porsche’s Design and Development bureau BEFORE he ever managed to complete his education. More so – he got the job after he built a Ford GT-inspired showcar in his own garage (his parents’ actually – whey used the place for doing laundry – never mind) and he took that car directly to Porsche’s headquarters, where everyone pissed their pants after he showed up. So he had no papers from university, his CV was a god-damn joke – but he got the job, because he had skills and he could use them in practice – as we could see, even with no budget. Almost a decade he spent there, until he changed colors for the bb – a tuning company mostly, but not only – and that’s where Mr. Schulz gets most recognition.

While his time in the bb, he took part in designing supercars for Mercedes-Benz, and not just anything, but the replacement for the iconic 300SL. The car had Mercedes stickers, but everything – the design, all ideas and the prototype – it all took place in the bb workshops. Amazing machine, BTW – I will have to write about it some day. That car was a base for a project Schulz undertook after opening his own design bureau. It will be his first big-time craft. Finally it will exit the factory in 30 examples, spyder versions, those of Mercedes, the prototypes – all 108i Isderas were Mercedes V8-powered with at least 5-litre capacity and in 400 horsepower range in their AMG iterations. Fuck me, that’s serious shit.

Now, why were Mercedes cars being built by some small manufacturer? The philosophy behind Isdera company was, so that they would actually execute the projects Mercedes would very much like to construct, but they were not really allowed to, because the marketing, the finance department, the eco-trends, the fuel emissions and all that gay talk. Isdera was small fish – they didn’t give a shit. They didn’t have no finance department. The only way to make Isdera purchase was to talk directly to the head of the company. There were no dealerships, no salesmen. You had to wait for your car at least a year and nobody said a word to it – because the car was worth the wait. Isdera compromised on nothing: you had a bold design, towering performance, and luxurious interior – all in one package. 3 times „yes” – welcome to the final! The car had it all – and in the year 1993 its successor was presented.

Commendatore 112i oraz Silver Arrow z prawej

Frankfurt Motor Show 1993 when we first saw the new model: Commendatore 112i. Fucking hell. Mercedes V12 did 400 horsepower, no sweat – in fact it had a lot of headroom left, because they could have easily tuned it for 150 more if the wanted. But they didn’t go for it and the car still hit 212mph (340 km/h) and it didn’t have to be rebuilt after. Eat the cake and keep the cake – they didn’t sacrifice the engine reliability, and they still had a hugely powerful motor. It was unheard of then! Yes, we already had the cars hitting 220 miles, but it was always a stretch, and that V12 could do it time and time again – no stress on the engine. S-Klasse would have same motors and it would also power later Pagani supercars – and it would still be awesome! It’s a good performer – 10/10. Would buy again.

If that was not enough, the man put a RUF-modified Porsche 6-speed gearbox based on 5-speed Getrag transmission. Isdera claimed 4,7s to lightspeed, but the car crossed 60mph after only 4.0s. A lot of elements were Porsche-derived. The body was hand-built from carbon fiber and GRP, but the suspension and ABS brakes were shared with Porsche 928. Pop-up headlights were direct copy of 968 models. It had lifted doors like in the legendary Gullwing – fuck, the engine cover had the doors working the same way. Active suspension kept the car low at high speeds and deployed the aero brake when required. The driver didn’t have side mirrors, but he could look back through a FREAKING PERISCOPE! Shit you not.

The car was astonishing and it deserved the chance, yet – the prototype suffered delays and the financial crisis forced the company to declare bankruptcy like many supercar brands. The project was trashed and only one example exists. There was an additional leftover chassis, that was bought and finished by an outsider, but Isdera claims nothing to do with that project. And the original? It changed hands and beefed up. At some point capable of 230 mph (370km/h) from a 610 bhp V12. That configuration was called the Silver Arrow, and you could tell it from the original by the more ordinary side mirrors in place of the periscope, and Mercedes badging instead of Isdera – the replaced rims had them too. Fun fact: that one and only example was reclaimed by the Isdera company in 2015, brought back to its initial form, and sold last year (2021-FEB) by RM Sotheby. It hit well over 1M Euro.

In it’s own way Isdera united all beauty the world of automobiles had to offer till that point. It was called after Enzo „Il Commendatore” Ferrari himself, it used finest German technology, powered by the dream Mercedes V12, and stood on a Porsche-born suspension layout. One big homage to achievements of automotive history – and one that crossed the still exclusive 200mph barrier proud! It was to race the 24h of Le Mans, but when the finance ended, Schulz dreams died as well.