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Silver Wedge: The spectacular Isdera Imperator looks like a lost Mercedes Silver Arrow
Photo: Peter Singhof / Bonhams
Under the hammer:
an Isdera Imperator 108i from 1991.
Why bid?
Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati - Isdera could easily sneak into that order.
The emblem, an eagle on a blue background, also fits the who's who of the Italian sports car manufacturer.
In fact, the Imperator is much rarer than most sports cars from the three well-known manufacturers and not a bit Italian.
In total, only around 30 were made - north of the Alps.
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The priorities are right: the interior of the Imperator 108i is fully geared towards the driver
Photo: Peter Singhof / Bonhams
However, the sonorous word Isdera does not hide the founder's company name, as is the case with the Italian competition.
It stands for
I
ngenieurbüro for
S
tyling,
De
sign and
Ra
cing, founded by Eberhard Schulz, who began his career in the design studio and road-tested by Porsche.
"A mysterious abbreviation always sounds better than when a car is called Schulz," the company founder explained to SPIEGEL in 2007 for the unusual name.
The Imperator 108i was created from the concept vehicle Mercedes CW 311, a study presented in 1978 by the tuner bb.
It was not only spectacular, it was so mature that the Stuttgart manufacturer allowed it, as an exception, to wear the famous Mercedes star.
Schulz developed the design while still at Porsche - in his spare time.
The spectacular gullwing, in a sense a wedge-shaped, modern interpretation of the successor to the Mercedes classic 300 SL, caused a sensation and was one of the stars of the film "Car Napping".
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Black interior, silver paintwork: the color combination makes the Imperator look even stronger like a Mercedes silver arrow
Photo: Peter Singhof / Bonhams
However, it was not limited to the canvas and was not a one-off.
In 1982 Schulz went into business for himself and founded Isdera, the first model to be created was the Spyder 036i.
In 1984 the CW 311 concept vehicle finally became a series model: the Imperator 108i.
According to the Bonhams auction house, around 30 copies were made by 1993, divided into two series.
13 to 17 of these belong to the second series, including this example, according to the auction house the only one that was newly exported to Japan.
The model differs from the first series mainly in details: Pop-up headlights replaced the classic lights, and three side air outlets in the front, which look like the gills of a shark, were also new.
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Keep your eyes open: the second Imperator series received pop-up headlights
Photo: Peter Singhof / Bonhams
But the emperor was not only sharpened outwardly.
The eight-cylinder heart of the car - which, like the distinctive taillights, came from the Daimler shelf - was replaced: instead of the M117-V8, its successor, the M119 with a displacement of five liters and four valves per cylinder, was installed.
Thanks to its 330 hp in combination with a ZF five-speed gearbox, it accelerates the car to up to 292 km / h.
The 1.4-ton sports car sprinted from zero to 100 km / h in 5.6 seconds - so it could easily compete with the competitors that emerged south of the Alps.
But it's not just the performance of the 4.2 meter long and 1.14 meter high sports car that is impressive.
The combination of classic sports car design and standard Mercedes taillights makes the Imperator look like it came from a fictional parallel universe: One in which Mercedes developed numerous Silver Arrows with a mid-engine and did everything in its power to displace Ferrari from the top of the sports car hierarchy.
However, this model differs from standard Imperator models in one important detail: it has classic exterior mirrors.
For most of the others - including the one-off Commendatore - a mirror on the roof provides the necessary retrospective view.
It works like a periscope.
Surcharge!
The Bonhams auction house is auctioning the Imperator in Monaco on April 23, and the price is expected to be around 600,000 euros.
Compared to its unique successor, the Commendatore, it would almost be a bargain.
It achieved a price of 985,000 euros at an auction in February of this year.