Jalopnik
You may have never heard of the Lotec C1000 before, because although other super cars may get a small production run, the C1000 was a one-of-a-kind. Power in this mid-90's beast came from a 5.6-liter Mercedes V8 that was force-fed by twin turbochargers, resulting in about 1000 HP and 723 lb-ft of torque. Thanks to carbon fiber and aerospace whatnot, the whole car only weighs about 2380 lbs. Wrap everything together and tie it up with the 5-speed manual transmission, and you could get from 0-60 in 3.2-seconds and 0-125 in 8.1 seconds. Those specs are amazing for a car made in 1995, but they better be, because the C1000 was commissioned by a UAE business baron of black gold who shilled out about $3.4M to get himself the fastest car in the world. How fast? 268 MPH. If that's true, the Lotec is faster than even the mighty Bugatti Veyron. So what is a beast like this doing in North Carolina?
A couple of years ago, the C1000 was auctioned off at one of the Barrett-Jackson auction for $243,000. Only a few months later, the car was found on eBay with an asking price of $350,000 from a dealership in Georgia. Since then it's been off the radar. We're not exactly sure why it's shown up at this tiny dealership in the town of Concorde, North Carolina. What's even more disheartening is the car seems to be in several pieces now. We'd like to imagine that it was broken when someone tried jumping it over a river or something, but that's just us. (Hat tip to Jason!) [via s2k fourms]
Comments
Fast,but looks like ass
Now, that's what I call depreciation!
Do they finance? 60 months 0%?
At Least it looks like most of the pieces are accounted for. Sorry guys, doesn't look lie it jumped a river, still shiny side up.
Man, those are some amazing numbers. Not only now, but especaially for '95.
I kinda like the looks. I mean, its no 8C, but it sorta looks like a super-duper 911. Which is weird since it's a MB.
This is a great super oddball Jalop-type find.
the entire is the suck
Didn't the Sultan of Brunei have a shooting brake version of this?
That's what a Noble would look like if it won the lottery.
Concord, NC (no e) is right in the heart of NASCAR country. Numerous drivers, owners, etc. live in or within a stone's throw of this small burg. I suspect there is a connection here if someone does a little digging.
Wasn't this sold recently at a Barret Jackson Auction? I swear I remember this one being sold for like $250,000
i bet there's a fiero chassis underneath.
The car's ugly as sin (interior and exterior), but that engine shot is hawt sex. I love the carbon fiber intake manifold.
I like that little orange button is on the driver's seat armrest/bolster. I have convinced myself that it is for the driver's ejection seat that would be necessary to survive a crash once this thing hits "ludicrous speed."
268 MPH will leave skid marks in your shorts
That's some serious depreciation. I'd go pick it up, but I need something with more than one seat (where would my weim sit and stick her head out of the window?!). Oh... and I would need some of that FU money that was discussed in the thread regarding the Sultan.
@bmoredlj: ... and a wagon version - in p*ssy magnet yellow.
I rather liked it until I saw the magenta leather interior and the dashboard fabricated by some high school shop class.
Needs more "car is actually the ghost of my dead brother returned for vegence" behind the wheel...
Lotec provided the ultimate in vaporware supercars and one-off prototypes for much of the 1990s. And they were all ugly. After this car they built another design, called the Sirius, which used a twin-turbo BMW V12 and never got beyond a single example, but they claimed a top speed of 275mph when the Sirius did the autoshow circuit. Yeah right...
Looks home-made.
Needs more Bruce.
Do you guys remember that scene in Forrest Gump where Forrest is getting picked on and Jenny tells him to run? He takes off and somehow is faster than Carl Lewis, and everyone is like, "Wow that funny looking retarded kid sure is fast!" That's the feeling I get here, "Wow that funny looking retarded car sure is fast."
At that rate of depreciation I should be able to pick it up for the price of a Civic in three weeks.
Where's the competitor? I thought this was PCH.. Anybody seen Agassi's BBQ's Vector lately?
I think it looks awesome. Well, not the interior and '68 International Harvester dashboard. But the exterior...yeah, baby.
@Vipper Of Vipp: Yeah, that's the one thing that astonishes me about this car. Even though the exterior is ugly, it at least doesn't look like it was made by amateurs. The interior, however, looks like they spent about $500 out of that $3.4 million on designing and building it. It's honestly closer to something a person would build in their garage to a supercar cockpit.
The back 3/4 angle shot is nice, but the front looks like somebody stomped on the head of a four eyed bull frog.
@Bad Juju: Well done. I was going to tie this into a PCH comment, but your comment is better than I could muster.
It's a nice car, but not a $3.4 million nice car. $250 K is appropriate.
Looks like it's in for it's 3k mile "tune up".
Would have been much more interesting if it had been a Denver DOTS.
This car looks absurd. I'm sure Kafka or Camus could do a better job than I. I'm still getting flashbacks to Die Sorge des Housvaters. Odradek!!
@voodoojoo: That is, could do a better job of description than I.
Why am I thinking those were 'estimated' performance numbers?
WTF is up wid the interior? All that zoom and you have to look at that?
does anyone else see a serious similarity between this and the Zonda?
i think this car obviously made a big impression on a younger Haracio Pagani...
I remember seeing this sell at Barret-Jackson and then checking it out afterward. All I could muster was that Lotec was the worst name for a supercar "manufacturer" ever.
@БЯд╒╒ ®:
...No one can drive straight!
@voodoojoo: So Camus and Kafka walk into a dealership in North Carolina and Kafka says, "That looks like a grotesque insect" and Camus nods, shakes his head and murmurs. "Oui. It's absurd."
"What's absurd?"
"That it is here in NC. That it is a one-off no one wanted. That it exists at all."
it takes about three times the length of runway too reach that top speed, but it is theoretically a more capable car.
Lotec? That engine looks a little high-tech to me.
If Jill Wagner is in those shots, I sure can't see her.
Gap insurance anyone ????
-Steffan Ericsson: mmm...that car looks strange..but it has 1000hp...seems fast...
do you mind if i have a test drive?..
-Car salesman: Sure...no problem...
hmmm.... i smell a rat in the form of a thinly veiled race car. interior says it all. and the engine. and the profuse use of carbon fibre in a 95. and the obscenely wide tires on bbs looking rims with center locks. and the shape that screams contemporary day daytona prototype.
200+ mph with a 5 speed? 0-60 in 3.2-seconds and 0-125 in 8.1 seconds?
Somebody want to clear up the gear ratios here? Seems like it would take an awfully long time to hit any really high speeds.
Maybe you have to crack the car in half to replace the clutch?
That thing used to live in a Hummer dealership around here. It was moved before I ever got to see it. ;_; They wanted 1.6 million for it, or something. I nearly shat myself when I saw it go for like $250k on BJ.
@Novaload: That Jalopnik inspired another one of my 'But all of existence is absurd!" mind-explosions means that today is a good day.
I wanted to hate this thing but damn lookit that rear end!!!!I want
i remember when it was on ebay, i also remember how it is almost as ugly as the ford gt90 [images.forum-auto.com]
I really wish I had $3.4 million to commission a car. I'm thinking a smattering of the best motorsports parts (restrictorless LeMans GT1-class engine, F1 gearbox, F1 suspension bits) in a carbon fiber monocoque chassis and a sexy body. For $3.4 million you could probably get Pininfarina to design you something nice. Oh yeah, and a real interior too.
I was considering it, but the steering wheel looks to be centered over the the armrest. At 268 mph I need better ergonomics than it appears to offer.
put in in the fantasy garage!
Looks are fantastic - hell Pagani copied the front end, 962 inspired greenhouse and interior, rear-end like nothing else except maybe a 340R Lotus crossed with a Porsche GT1.
Getting in if your date's wearing a miniskirt would be interesting - she'd have to swing both legs in at once like she was on a set of parallel bars...