Mercedes-Benz comes with mysterious study model

In September 1969, at the IAA in Frankfurt, Mercedes-Benz showed its first of what would become a series of experimental vehicles: the C111. The first C111 not only had an unprecedented sleek and outspoken design for Mercedes-Benz at the time, but was also partly made of fiberglass. The C111 also had wing doors and a rotary engine was located behind the front seats. The C111 was followed a year later in the C111-IID. It looked slightly different and exchanged its Wankel engine for a diesel engine. More C111s would follow and in 1991 Mercedes-Benz even showed the C112, but it is the C111-IID-with-diesel heart that Mercedes-Benz draws inspiration from for a brand new study model.

H243: A reference to the EQA or something else?

Mercedes-Benz throws shadowy teaser plates and a shadowy video into the world via its social channels, showing fragments of the new show car. Mercedes-Benz calls the new concept car the successor to the C111, but seems to forget the C112 for a while. We see pieces of lighting that have an optical link with the C111 past, although one of the teaser plates causes a mystery. On one of the images we see the designation H243 in pixelated LED lighting. H243 is the model code of the electric Mercedes-Benz EQA. Whether that means that Mercedes’ new concept car is based on the EQA, gets bits of technology from that car or has nothing to do with it at all, remains to be seen.

It is not yet entirely clear when Mercedes-Benz will present its new concept car. Given the C111 history, a show debut at the Munich IAA is obvious, although that would mean that Mercedes-Benz will keep the model under wraps for a few months. We wait.