Mercedes-Benz showed an interest in getting involved in sportscar racing once again in the 1980s (having not had an active role in motor-racing since 1955) but initially decided against developing both a car and engine package. They turned to Peter Sauber, the Swiss owner of Team Sauber who were already active in Group C sportscar racing using BMW engines. The result of their collaboration was the Sauber C8 which first appeared in 1985. The C8 was the 8th sportscar developed by Sauber and apparently the "C" in the name referred to Peter Sauber's wife Christiane. The car used a twin turbocharged Mercedes-Benz 5.0 litre V8 which was itself developed from Mercedes-Benz's production V8 engine in use at the time. The C8's first race was the 1985 24hrs of Le Mans but the car failed to start after an accident in practice. The C8 failed to appear at any further races in the 1985 World Sportscar Championship (WSC), but was entered for the full season in 1986. The highlight of the year was a win in the 7th (out of 9) round of the WSC, the 1000 km Nürburgring in Germany. The Kouros sponsored C8 finished in 5th place overall in the 1986 WSC.
For the 1986 season the C8's main sponsor was the aftershave brand Kouros, who continued as the main sponsor for the 1987 season. Sauber developed a new car for 1987, the C9 which again was powered by a 5.0 litre turbocharged Mercedes-Benz V8. The C9 had a poor first WSC season failing to win any races and only scoring points once. Kouros left as the main sponsor at the end of the season and in 1988 AEG (a Daimler-Benz subsidiary company) became the main sponsor. The 1988 WSC season saw the first win for the C9 (although the C9 won it's first non-WSC race at the end of 1987) in the first round (out of 11) at Jerez in Spain. In total the Sauber-Mercedes team won 5 out of 11 races and finished 2nd behind Jaguar in the championship. The only low point of the season was Le Mans as both C9s were withdrawn following a number of tire failures in practice.
For the 1989 season the C9s were painted silver and Mercedes-Benz replaced AEG as the main sponsor. The C9 was the dominant car for the '89 WSC season winning 7 out of 8 races including the 24hrs of Le Mans. The '89 Le Mans win was the icing on the cake for Mercedes-Benz as it was only their second win in the prestigious French race (the 1st win being in 1952). In 1990 the C9 made way for the Mercedes-Benz C11.
Like all the Exoto C9s, this model has superb engine and interior detail with a working gear lever linkage between the cockpit and the gearbox at the rear of the engine. There is no upper bodywork on this model as it was sold together with the 1989 Le Mans winner as a "rolling chassis" (it was not available to buy on it's own) hence all the fine details in the cockpit, the front end and the engine are out on display. The wheels shod with Michelin rain tires are also removable. This C9 is set up in "Le Mans" configuration which meant a smaller rear wing with less downforce, but a higher top speed. For most circuits a higher downforce "sprint" configuration was the preferred set up, but for Le Mans the cars ran with a smaller rear wing to enable them to hit a higher top speed along the long straight at the Le Sarthe circuit.
I personally love this model as it looks excellent when displayed alongside it's "clothed" sister cars. However it did annoy me that I had no choice in the matter about buying it as I had to get it when I bought the 1989 Le Mans winner. Exoto realised that most collectors interested in getting only one or two Sauber-Mercedes C9s from them would probably want the Le Mans winning car hence they decided only to sell it as part of a two model set with the rolling chassis. This meant it was an expensive purchase compared to "lesser" C9s. If you wished to buy this model on it's own, the only way to do so would be to buy one second hand off a collector who had bought the Le Mans winning set and decided to sell off the extra rolling chassis.
Despite the high price I paid for this model along with the Le Mans winner, I'm glad I did so as they are superb models. Plus one of the most important parts of my collection for me are my Le Mans winners. Currently (2007) this model is sold out and only available second hand (and usually for a premium price). If in the unlikely event you can find one for a reasonable price then I'd highly recommend adding it to any collection.
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