# Mercedes-Benz C291 > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mercedes-Benz_C291 > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mercedes-Benz_C291.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_C291 > Source revision: 1309969469 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Racing car Racing car model Mercedes-Benz C291 A C291 at the Automuseum Dr. Carl Benz, 2014 Category Group C Prototype Constructor Sauber Motorsport Predecessor Mercedes-Benz C11 Successor Mercedes-Benz C292 Technical specifications Engine Mercedes-Benz M291 Competition history Notable entrants Team Sauber Mercedes Notable drivers Jean-Louis Schlesser Jochen Mass Karl Wendlinger Michael Schumacher Fritz Kreutzpointner Debut 1991 430 km of Monza First win 1991 430 km of Autopolis Last win 1991 430 km of Autopolis Last event 1991 430 km of Autopolis Entries Races Wins Podiums 8 8 1 3 The **Mercedes-Benz C291** was a [sports-prototype](/source/Sports-prototype) racing car introduced for the [1991 World Sportscar Championship season](/source/1991_World_Sportscar_Championship_season). It was Mercedes-Benz’ final car in the Group C category.[1][2] ## Introduction The 1991 season marked the introduction of the [FIA](/source/FIA)’s new, and controversial, 3.5 litre formula which replaced the highly successful Group C category that had been used in the [World Sportscar Championship](/source/World_Sportscar_Championship) since 1982, though due to a small number of entries for the 3.5 litre formula heavily penalised Group C cars (which were subject to weight penalties and started behind the new-style C1 entries on the grid) were allowed to participate in the season's C2 category. To meet the new regulations Mercedes-Benz came up with an all-new car; the C291 which was designed by its racing partner [Sauber](/source/Sauber). One survived and is on display in the Carl Benz Museum in [Ladenburg](/source/Ladenburg), Germany.[3] Another one is located in the Michael Schumacher Collection in Cologne, and this is the Autopolis-winning chassis. ## Engine The primary feature of the new regulations was the use of a 3.5 litre naturally aspirated engine. This made it impossible for Mercedes-Benz to use the engines from its previous Group C cars. Also, to produce similar power to the Group C cars a 3.5 litre naturally aspirated engine had to be very high-revving and be constructed from different materials in order to rev highly. Unlike Jaguar's [XJR-14](/source/XJR-14) who had the readily available and proven Ford HB V8 engine from the [Benetton B190B](/source/Benetton_B190B) Formula One car (the engine regulations for the new 3.5 litre formula were identical to Formula One), Mercedes-Benz had to design an all-new purpose-built racing engine and its M-291 3.5L [flat-12](/source/Flat-12)[4] unit was the result. The engine produced about 550–600 brake horsepower (410–450 kW) compared to about 730 brake horsepower (540 kW) produced by the 5.0 litre twin turbo V8 found in the C291's predecessor, the [Mercedes-Benz C11](/source/Mercedes-Benz_C11). ## Design Unlike the [Jaguar XJR-14](/source/Jaguar_XJR-14), the C291 resembled previous sports-prototypes, despite the fact that the redesign of the Le Mans [Circuit de la Sarthe](/source/Circuit_de_la_Sarthe) in 1990 meant cars with their low drag design, top-end power, straight-line acceleration and top-speed characteristics were no longer required[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]. Unlike the Jaguar (and latterly the [Peugeot 905](/source/Peugeot_905)B) the Mercedes still featured a full-width low-drag single-tier rear wing and no front wing. This resulted in the car having a higher top speed than the Jaguar (and only slightly less than old Group C cars).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] However, this, allied to the characteristics of the 3.5 litre engine, meant the car would have slower acceleration above 150-170 mph than most Group C cars, therefore not taking advantage of the low-drag design, and conversely the low-drag design meant the car was slower in the corners than the Jaguar and Peugeot's 905B, this time not taking advantage of the lower kerb weight of 750 kilograms (1,653 lb).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Overall the C291 was not as fast as a contemporary Formula One car around some circuits used by the Grand Prix fraternity, and was a lot slower at Le Mans' Circuit de la Sarthe in 1991.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Race results During the development and testing of the new M291 powerplant, it became apparent to Sauber Mercedes that there were problems in the engine design and construction. Thus the team started the 1991 season with a lone C291, while at the same time running an older C11.[5] In the first two races of the season, the C291 failed to finish while the C11 finished 2nd and 3rd. At the third race, the C291 scored a 2nd-place finish, ahead of the C11. For the fourth round, the [1991 24 Hours of Le Mans](/source/1991_24_Hours_of_Le_Mans), the team decided that the C291 would not be capable of completing the race, and thus were forced to enter three C11s. After Le Mans, Sauber Mercedes decided that the C291 had been developed enough to compete on its own, and it finished the season without running a C11 alongside. However, the C291 failed to finish the next three races of the season. Only in the final race of the year at Autopolis was the C291 not only able to finish, but also able to score its only win.[1] Sauber Mercedes finished the season third in the teams championship. After much disappointment the C291 was planned to be replaced by the more radical [C292](/source/Mercedes-Benz_C292) for the 1992 season, but Mercedes-Benz decided to pull out of sportscar racing before the C292 could compete and turned to Formula 1 in 1993, although it did not continue to use the troublesome M291 powerplant.[6] ## Complete World Sportscar Championship results Year Entrant Class Drivers No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Points WEMCP 1991 Team Sauber Mercedes Group C SUZ MNZ SIL LMS NUR MAG MEX AUT 70 3rd Jean-Louis Schlesser 1 14 18 11 5 Jochen Mass 14 11 5 Karl Wendlinger 2 14 14 2 DNQ 15 14 12 1 Michael Schumacher 14 14 2 DNQ 15 14 12 1 Fritz Kreutzpointner DNQ ## References Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Mercedes-Benz C291](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Mercedes-Benz_C291). 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_1-1) ["Sauber-Mercedes Victory 1989 Le Mans 24 Hours - Profile, Photos"](https://sportscardigest.com/silver-arrows-victory-1989-le-mans-24-hours/). *Sports Car Digest - The Sports, Racing and Vintage Car Journal*. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2021. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** D, Nick (22 April 2016). ["1991→1991 Sauber Mercedes C291"](https://www.supercars.net/blog/1991%E2%86%921991-sauber-mercedes-c291/). Retrieved 15 October 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["La Mercedes C291 de Michael Schumacher reprend la piste - Automoto | TF1"](https://www.tf1.fr/tf1/auto-moto/news/mercedes-c291-de-michael-schumacher-reprend-piste-5398581.html). *MYTF1* (in French). 20 September 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2021. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["That time Mercedes almost built an 18-cylinder engine"](https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/that-time-mercedes-almost-built-an-18-cylinder-engine). *driving*. Retrieved 8 August 2021. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Petrány, Máté (22 May 2017). ["This Group C Sauber-Mercedes Is the Car That Inspired the Pagani Zonda"](https://www.roadandtrack.com/motorsports/videos/a33546/the-group-c-sauber-mercedes-that-inspired-the-pagani-zonda/). *Road & Track*. Retrieved 8 August 2021. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Listen To The Howl Of The Doomed Mercedes Flat-12 Engine"](https://jalopnik.com/listen-to-the-howl-of-the-doomed-mercedes-flat-12-engin-1791306600). *Jalopnik*. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2021. v t e Sauber Motorsport Founder Peter Sauber Notable personnel Mariano Alperin Alessandro Alunni Bravi Andrea Benisi Jörn Becker Mattia Binotto Ruth Buscombe Dirk de Beer Lucia Conconi André de Cortanze Giampaolo Dall'Ara Elliot Dason-Barber Rémi Decorzent Gabriele Delli Colli Jost Capito Alessandro Cinelli Alex Chan Steve Clark Jacky Eeckelaert Luca Furbatto Eric Gandelin Craig Gardiner Brendan Gilhome René Hilhorst [ja] Nicolas Hennel Monisha Kaltenborn James Key Mike Krack Axel Kruse [pt] Urs Kuratle Josef Leberer Amiel Lindesay Jose Manuel López Tim Malyon Jan Monchaux Matt Morris Seamus Mullarkey Francesco Nenci Steve Nichols Tom McCullough John Owen Steven Petrik Pascal Picci [pt] Xevi Pujolar Willy Rampf Leo Ress [ja] Simone Resta Sergio Rinland Iñaki Rueda Paul Russell Tony Salter Marco Schüpbach Andreas Seidl Loïc Serra Erik Schuivens Mark Smith Julien Simon-Chautemps Stefano Sordo Lee Stevenson Willem Toet Mario Theissen Frédéric Vasseur Pierre Waché Ben Waterhouse Jonathan Wheatley Max Welti Ian Wright Jörg Zander Beat Zehnder Christoph Zimmermann Notable drivers Karl Wendlinger Heinz-Harald Frentzen Johnny Herbert Jean Alesi Nick Heidfeld Kimi Räikkönen Felipe Massa Giancarlo Fisichella Jacques Villeneuve Robert Kubica Sebastian Vettel Kamui Kobayashi Sergio Pérez Nico Hülkenberg Marcus Ericsson Charles Leclerc Zhou Guanyu Valtteri Bottas Gabriel Bortoleto Former drivers See category Sportscars C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 SHS C6 C7 C8 C9 C11 C291 C292 Formula One cars C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 As BMW Sauber F1.06 F1.07 F1.08 F1.09 C29 C30 C31 C32 C33 C34 C35 C36 C37 As Alfa Romeo C38 C39 C41 C42 C43 C44 C45 Related Audi in Formula One Alfa Romeo in Formula One BMW in Formula One Sauber Academy v t e Mercedes-Benz sportscar racers 1925–1931 Monza SSK 1952–1955 W194 300 SLR 1985–1991 (built by Sauber) C8 C9 C11 C291 C292 1997–1999 CLK GTR CLK LM CLR 2010–present SLS AMG GT3 AMG GT3 AMG GT4 AMG GT2 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mercedes-Benz C291](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_C291) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_C291?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.