Friday 22nd March 2013

Isdera Imperator: PH Blog

Harris plays Top Trumps and finds himself tempted by a rare supercar oddity ... with a periscope

---

With no PH classifieds to distract me yesterday morning, my attention turned to Top Trumps. One of my children had spread a modern pack around the house, and looking at the subject matter it struck me that there was something missing.

Superb presence from head-on

They were all real, tangible cars. I had seen them all moving on television. Where were the barely believable concept machines with guesswork performance data? Where was the Ferrari Pinin? The Sbarro Monster? And where was the Isdera Imperator?

Ah, the Isdera Imperator: the result of one Eberhard Schulz being unwilling to allow the Mercedes CW311 concept to simply disappear and be forgotten forever. Merc didn’t want to build the car, but it allowed Schulz to go ahead and do just that, using Mercedes engines. He called it the Imperator 108i and for this ten-year-old it occupied a space in car mythology somewhere between the Countach and the Cizeta V16, in that I suspected it actually moved, but didn’t believe it was a proper car. Mostly because, aged ten, I had no idea it was a stillborn Mercedes engineering study.

Periscope rear-view mirror was ingenious

Well, thanks to YouTube, all those illusions are now shattered. The Isdera doesn’t just move; according to this video, it hammers around the Nurburgring in pretty treacherous conditions with its periscope mirror sitting proud.

I don’t know whether to feel bereft or somehow completed. Either way, I never expected to see what I thought was a make-believe Top Trumps car driven like this.

And here’s what it looks like from the outside.

Chris

[Images: Isdera / Silosarg]

[mrclav]

Wow.... I wonder how much one of those is worth?

[Liquid Tuna]

Oh that's just awesome!! Look at it!!

[Liquid Tuna]

Checkout the smoke in the cabin at 3:25 in the video

[Codswallop]

I've always loved the rear view of these cars, mainly because of a weird love I have for the classic 3d Mercedes light clusters of the period. Isdera appears to still be in business too

[scubadude]

Looks abit odd but not wrong strangely, wonderful noise though- why can't more cars sound like that? :-)

[Fartgalen]

Sounds good anyway.

And bloodyhell - the smoke ?

[Michael77]

How about the Commendatore?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGZuRL86hmI

[SturdyHSV]

Now there's a name I've not heard since Need For Speed II (I think?)

[Erwin1978]

top trups trumped, i got the sales brochure of this car...

[BelperJim]

SturdyHSV said:

Now there's a name I've not heard since Need For Speed II (I think?)

[nagsheadwarrior]

What a great thing,watched the whole 9.30,great sound and the smokes very funny.

[simonigrale]

BelperJim said:

SturdyHSV said:

Now there's a name I've not heard since Need For Speed II (I think?)

I remember this game ! It had a Lamborghini Cala on it as well which I'm assuming ended up being the Gallardo.

[flingstam]

Fast Lane mag drove one in the late 80's, I believe. Chris was probably too engrossed in his Top Trumps to notice.

Edited by flingstam on Friday 22 March 11:14

[pSyCoSiS]

Mercedes S Class W116 rear lights?!

[pSyCoSiS]

Sounds lovely

[Craiglamuffin]

Straight on, it looks a bit like a GT40 through a fish eye lens.

[drakart]

I've been at the ring when that has been there. It's fair to say that all the supercar owners strutting around the car park like peacocks had their pants royally pulled down! Everyone's jaw hit the floor. He certainly didn't hang around out on the track I seem to recall!

[CudaBen21]

I never thought this car was ever produced but it's great to it was! Does anyone know how many were made?

[Ali2202]

Oooh! Macca F1 headlightish!

[Whitean3]

The Article said:

I don’t know whether to feel bereft or somehow completed. Either way, I never expected to see what I thought was a make-believe Top Trumps car driven like this.

I felt the same way seeing a Monteverdi Hai for the first time- not just a picture of a concept car in a Top Trumps slide deck...