Video: Onboard with Schumacher and Mass’ Mercedes-Benz C11 at the Festival of Speed
19th September 2024
Rachel Roberts
Cars going quickly is kinda what we’re into, but today’s video comes with a slightly unusual warning from its publisher, BBM Sport, that the featured car won’t be going overl...
This may be our own doing, though, because this video is from the 2024 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard and stars the 1990 Mercedes-Benz C11 running up the Hill as part of the 130 years of Mercedes-Benz celebration. Unlike the Timed Shootout, the aim here is not to flash by the grandstands as quickly as possible, but take their time to show off to the crowds, who in this case were basking in the growls of this glorious 5.0-litre twin-turbo V8.
The C11 was a Group C prototype built by Sauber as a successor to the C9, to compete in the 1990 World Sportscar Championship and, like the C9, is powered by the M119 engine which in race spec produced 740PS (544kW). A success in competition, the C11 picked up seven wins across the five chassis that were built, winning the manufacturers’ title for Sauber. Mauro Baldi and Jean-Louis Schlesser were the most successful pair winning five races, while Jochen Mass won two – one with Karl Wendlinger and the other with Michael Schumacher, a year before he made his Formula 1 debut.
At the Festival of Speed, the car was run by BBM Sport, a racing car restoration company specialising in prototypes and GTs, and went up the Hill each day in the Mercedes-Benz celebration batch. This onboard video features a handy speedometer so we can watch as the C11 peaks at 118mph on its way up the Hill, while another graphic shows in real time exactly how the throttle and brakes are being applied.
You can see just why there were limits to the speed as the car ahead comes into view towards the end of the run. So while it may not have been flat out, an expertly controlled run gave us all a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the C11 in action and – sandwiched between the Mercedes 120hp from 1907 and 2021’s W12 F1 car – appreciate its place in the storied history of Mercedes-Benz.
