Lotec C1000

Lotec C1000 is an exclusive sports car from the Lotec company, custom-built by a businessman from the UAE in 1995. Work on the supercar began in 1991, and almost four years and $3.4 million later, the C1000 was ready for delivery as a one-off car.

An Arab billionaire ordered a car from Mercedes that was supposed to be the fastest roadworthy car owned by a private individual. Mercedes, for its part, agreed with Lotec on the design and manufacture of the car body. The letter C in the type designation comes from the English word “carbon fiber”, and the number 1000 indicates the horsepower reading of the engine produced by Mercedes.

Engine

The car was equipped with a 5.5-liter Mercedes V8 engine with two Garrett turbochargers. The fuel is a mixture of normal unleaded motor gasoline and aviation fuel, the exact blending ratio of which is not publicly available. As promised to the customer, the car was solemnly declared 1000-horsepower (in case of verification of compliance, Lotterschmid reserved the ability to “accelerate” the turbochargers to a pressure of 1.35 bar, providing a power of 1000 hp at 6500 rpm and a maximum torque of 1120 Nm at 3800 rpm). Despite the “lack” of power, there was nothing to complain about the dynamics: 374 kph and 3.21 seconds to hundreds. Theoretically, the maximum speed of the car should have exceeded 430 kph, but at that time there was not a single tire in the world that could withstand speeds exceeding 380 kph.

Transmission

To realize the enormous torque, a Hewland racing sequential 5-speed gearbox and a limited-slip rear differential were used.

Chassis

The central part of the Ford Probe body was taken as the basis of the body; the engine shield and floor elements were made of steel and additionally reinforced with auxiliary struts. The doors, roof and pillars were made of aluminum alloy, and external panels made of Kevlar and carbon fiber were attached to the monocoque itself. Aluminum subframes and independent suspension of the front and rear wheels on double wishbones were attached to the monocoque. The tires on the car are 17 inches, 265/45 at the front and 335/35 at the rear.

Brake system

Stopping the car was the responsibility of four-piston brake calipers made by AP for IMSA racing cars.

Interior

The cabin was equipped with Kevlar seats with 3-point seat belts. At the same time, there were such options as an adjustable steering column, adjustable pedals, air conditioning, an advanced Hi-Fi audio system, and an LCD monitor displaying information from the car’s sensors. The car also had a luggage compartment, which was located in the rear of the cabin. The steering wheel was located on the right side. The doors opened vertically.

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