Mercedes-Benz C291

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The Mercedes-Benz C291 was a Group C prototype race car introduced in the 1991 World Sportscar Championship season as a replacement for the previous Mercedes-Benz C11. With a chassis built again by Sauber, the C291 differed from the C11 in that it used a new purpose-built M291 3.5L Flat-12 instead of using the older production-based 5.0L Turbo V8. This was done in preperation for the rule changes set by the FIA which would come into effect in the 1992 season.

During the development and testing of the new M291 powerplant, it become apparent to Sauber Mercedes that there were problems in the engine design and construction. Thus the team was forced to start the 1991 season with a lone C291, while at the same time running an older C11. Unfortunately, in the first two races of the season, the C291 failed to finish while the C11 managed to finish 2nd and 3rd. By the third race, the C291 was able to finish and score a 2nd place, ahead of the C11. For the fourth round, the 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. Sauber Mercedes managed to only finish the season third in the teams championship.

After much disappointment the C291 was planned to be replaced by the more radical C292 for the 1992 season, but unfortunately 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.