Isdera Imperator 108iImage: Isdera
Finally, we get to the brand that inspired this list; the one which, if not for editor supervision, I would have placed here four more times without a second thought. Eberhard Schulz was an ex-Porsche engineer who left Stuttgart for a job at coachbuilder b&b in the late ’70s. During his time there, he partnered with Mercedes-Benz to design the CW 311 concept: a gorgeous, forward-thinking mid-engined coupe with gullwing doors, harkening back to the Silver Arrows’ past. When Mercedes didn’t want to produce the CW 311, he decided to do it himself under the brand Isdera — a pseudo-acronym that, when translated from German, spells out “Engineering Company for Styling, Design and Racing.”
After the Imperator 108i (above) and Spyder 033i, Schulz set out to design a totally new flagship, one that was intended to inform a Le Mans motorsport program. But the company lost funding, and no more than one Commedatore 112i was ever made. It recently sold, and last summer I recall hearing that the car was turning up at Radwood-style events across the country. Isdera too still exists, albeit in a sense; the company partnered with Chinese startup WM Motors a few years back to fund the development of a handsome, if bland electric grand tourer.
Games it appears in: Just one, but it’s a biggie: Need For Speed II, where the Commedatore appears alongside other greats of the period, including the McLaren F1, Italdesign Calà and Ford GT90. That’s esteemed company.
