Around the late 90s, AMG was just a partner of Mercedes Benz and not yet a subsidiary of the brand. Mercedes-Benz wanted an extreme race car, and they partnered with AMG to build this car. The model became one of the coolest race cars ever built. We’re talking about the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR. With short development and production time, the CLK GTR was designed with a Porsche 911 design. However, the development team retained some elements of Mercedes-Benz in the CLK GTR.
As you would expect of a race car, the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR came with loads of aerodynamic features. The car’s chassis is made of carbon fiber and aluminum honeycomb monocoque, while the interior has carbon fiber and Alcantara finishings. After debuting in 1997, the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR went on to have historic performances in various motorsports events. Here’s what everyone forgot about the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR.
10 Built For The FIA GT Championship
In 1997, FIA GT added a new GT1 class to encourage big manufacturers like Mercedes, Toyota, and Porsche to participate in racing. Marcedes got interested and partnered with AMG to build a race car that could participate in the race. The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR made its debut in 1997, and that same year, Mercedes won both the manufacturer’s and driver’s titles.
Apart from the FIA GT championships, the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR won the 1997 British Empire Trophy with drivers Bernd Schneider and Alexander Wurz. The race car also won the 1998 FIA GT championships with drivers Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta.
9 Mercedes Secretly Attached Its Bodywork To The McLaren F1 GTR
Since they had limited production time, the Mercedes-AMG team had to resort to drastic measures. They bought one of the best race cars and used it as a production mule. The team purchased a McLaren F1 GTR and modified it to build the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR.
When thinking about it, it’s ironic that the CLK GTR was inspired by a McLaren F1 GTR and was used to beat McLaren race cars. The development team secretly attached the CLK’s bodywork to the McLaren F1 GTR. They also removed McLaren’s 6.0-liter LS600 V12 engine and replaced it with the BMW V12.
8th Failure On The Track
After the Mercedes-AMG team finished producing prototypes of the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, they entered the car in the 1997 FIA GT. The CLK GTR made its debut in Germany at the Hockenheimring. After the debut, the CLK GTR started competing in actual races, and the results weren’t promising.
At the first race, Mercedes entered two CLK GTR cars. One model had to leave the race after five laps because of brake issues. The remaining model finished the race 20 laps behind McLaren. Considering the fact that Mercedes specifically built this beast for racing, you can imagine their despair after the first outing.
7 Total Dominance At The FIA GT
Even with the initial failure, the Mercedes-AMG team kept working on the CLK GTR, and it paid off. After a few failures in the 1997 season, the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR came second place behind a winning McLaren at the Silverstone circuit. The team added a third CLK GTR unit, and at the Nürburgring, the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR beat a fleet of McLarens, coming first and second places.
The CLK GTR secured more wins at races like the A-1-Ring, Donington, Suzuka, Sebring, and Laguna Seca. With these races, the CLK GTR won both manufacturer’s and driver’s titles at the FIA GT championships. In the 1998 season, Mercedes won the FIA GT championships again, and in 1999, the GT1 class was scrapped because of a lack of entries.
6 The Horror At The Le Mans
After their successful short stint in the FIA GT championships, Mercedes entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1998. There wasn’t enough time to prepare for the race, and they had to modify the CLK GTR. Instead of the V12 engine, Mercedes used a Sauber C9 V8 engine with 600 horsepower.
They also removed the cooling vents in front of the car and modified the aerodynamics. The modified car is called the CLK LM. At the 1998 race, they raced under the GT1 class and won all the races. However, in the 1999 race, the CLK LM kept launching into the air and back flipping. Mercedes had to leave the race after just three long hours because of mechanical instability.
5 The CLK LM
The Mercedes-Benz CLK LM is very similar to the CLK GTR because they’re basically the same car apart from some alterations. Since Mercedes-Benz didn’t have enough time to make another model for the Le Mans race, they modified the CLK GTR and called it the CLK LM.
The CLK LM has a shortened wheelbase and a V8 engine. After the race car’s disastrous flips and crashes at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans race, the manufacturer had to pull out of the race. The whole debacle affected Mercedes’ reputation, and the president even vowed never to enter the Le Mans race again.
4 Only 28 Models Were Built
The whole process of making the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR was rushed, and luckily for the manufacturer, FIA’s GT1 rules were relaxed. At that time, manufacturers had to submit at least 25 road-going versions to gain homologation. Mercedes built 20 coupes and six roadsters as their road-going CLK GTR.
Due to the limited time, the CLK GTR only gained homologation six days before its first race. For the FIA GT championships, Mercedes used two CLK GTR prototypes. That makes it a total of 28 models built between 1998 and 1999.
3 It Held The Record For The Most Expensive Production Car
Today, the most expensive production car is the Bugatti La Voiture Noire, but before now, the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR once held that title. With only 28 units built, the CLK GTR is one of the rarest Mercedes cars. The race car is also iconic because of its history and wins at the FIA GT championships.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR once held the title of the most expensive production car at $1,547,620. In 2021, a CLK GTR model was placed for auction, and it was expected to bring in around $8.5-10 million.
2 Different variants of the CLK GTR
Mercedes and AMG made variants like the CLK GTR road version, CLK GTR Super Sport, and the CLK LM roadster. They built 26 CLK GTR road versions with 20 coupes and six roadsters. The CLK GTR Super Sport is similar to the original CLK GTR, but it was fitted with a newer Mercedes-AMG 7.3-liter V12 engine that delivers 711 horsepower and 580 lb-ft of torque.
Other race car models like the Pagani Zonda and the Mercedes-Benz SL73 AMG have also used the V12 engine. To receive homologation, Mercedes also had to make a roadster variant of the CLK LM.
1 It Was Built In Just 128 Days
For a car as iconic as the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, it’s amazing how little time was spent to make it. The Mercedes-AMG team built a functional prototype of the CLK GTR in just 128 days.
There wasn’t time to draw up a new design, so they used a Porsche design but still managed to make the car look like a Mercedes-Benz. However, building the car from a McLaren F1 GTR is one of the reasons why they were able to complete the project so quickly.
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About The Author
jay moren
(123 Articles Published)
Jay Moren is a car enthusiast who loves everything with an engine. When he’s not writing about cars, he plays the saxophone and keyboard. He also plays as a goalkeeper for a non-league side in his native Nigeria
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