Mercedes-benz CLK GTR
CLK GTR
It doesn't matter which car manufacturer you romanticise, most enthusiasts will agree that the 1990s was an absurd era for supercars. Honda had delivered us an attainable gem with the NSX, Jaguar released an instant icon with the XJ220, Ferrari produced the mouth-watering F50, and McLaren gave us one of the greatest cars ever made, the wondrous F1. While each of these beauties often found their ways to the racetrack (with varied success), they were still predominantly road cars at heart. The homologation specials, however, flipped the script on traditional processes by building cars with racing victories as a priority and pragmatic road use as somewhat of an afterthought. Porsche created an instant cult hit with the GT2, Lamborghini unleashed a monster in the Diablo GT, but one of the most race-focused homologation-hypercars ever to touch public roads is undoubtedly the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR. To some early critics, it was another outlandishly expensive supercar, but over time it has written itself into motoring folklore.
The CLK GTR started life – as most homologation specials do – with a good dose of historical rivalry and a dash of ego. Mercedes-Benz was going through the motorsport equivalent of an identity crisis with the closure of DTM and ITCC
Touring Car Championships in 1996, and subsequently had a great deal of talent at its disposal, chomping at the bit. The BPR endurance series featuring the likes of Ferrari’s F40LM, McLaren’s F1 GTR, and Porsche’s 911 GT1 seemed to align well in terms of market position, but MercedesBenz didn't have a car capable of rattling the cages of those racing heavyweights. Some conversations were had with AMG (still a separate company back then), and both parties agreed to develop a ground-up package for the new GT1 class in 1997. Now, with prices of McLaren F1s these days mimicking the GDPs of developing countries, it might seem ridiculous purchasing an F1 GTR to use as a test mule, but that’s exactly what MercedesBenz did. Swapping out the BMW V12 for AMG’s allowed the engineers to cycle the new engine in what was then the leading chassis on the scene, whilst also tweaking some of the aerodynamics. Eventually, the carbon-fibre bodywork was modified to somewhat resemble the quad-headlight CLK road car, and in the space of 128 days, remarkably Mercedes-Benz had produced two functioning prototypes.
On the CLK GTR’s race debut at the Hockenheimring, both cars suffered a rough start due to mechanical issues, with many critics thinking Mercedes-Benz had
LEFT: CLK GTR is not be confused with the infamous CLR which became airborne at Le Mans…twice
THE MERCEDES-BENZ CLK GTR SOON BECAME ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED AND COLLECTED SUPERCARS EVER MADE
tried to do too much, too soon. But by the time round four at the Nürburgring arrived, a third car was added to the team and the CLK GTR began silencing detractors the world over. The team went on to win 17 of its 22 races over the course of two years (including its descendent, the CLK LM), bringing home two team championships and two drivers’ championships, making it one of the most successful cars of the modern era. In fact, such was the CLK’s dominance over those two years, no manufacturer wanted to compete against Mercedes-Benz and subsequently, the GT1 class was scrapped altogether.
(Note: In 1999, Mercedes-Benz went to Le Mans with its LMGTP car, the CLR, with Mark Webber and Peter Dumbreck famously becoming airborne over the course of the event. Still to this day the CLK GTR wears the burden of this mistaken identity, as the car was completely different to the CLR.)
Before the champagne flowed too freely, the FIA hastily reminded Mercedes-Benz of its homologation obligation. Twenty-five cars had to be sold for public consumption for the records to stand, so towards the end of 1998 AMG began production. The car sold for a then-world record price tag of
US$1,547,620, but with the age-old adage ‘Race on Sunday, sell on Monday’ working in its favour, Mercedes-Benz had no issues finding customers.
The concept was simple: keep the car as close to authentic as possible, while not letting costs escalate beyond an already colossal figure. Interior features such as leather, audio system, and air-conditioning were added to offer some form of comfort, and storage was added to each door. The main visible difference between the race and road version is the looped rear wing which integrated into the bodywork, as opposed to the ‘bolt-on’ version displayed on the GT1 car. Besides that, the CLK GTR’s exterior maintained that hypersexualised CLK aesthetic that became an overnight icon, thanks to its consistent race victories and subsequent exposure.
The key difference between the two cars, surprisingly, lay under the bonnet. While the CLK GTR GT1 car ran a 6.0-litre V12, the road version’s capacity was increased by Ilmor Engineering to a substantial 6.9. With more than 600bhp on tap, the CLK GTR could sprint to 100km/h in 3.8 seconds, thundering to a top speed of 344. However, achieving such impressive times required some craft, as the car’s six-speed
ENTHUSIASTS WILL AGREE THAT THE 1990S WAS AN ABSURD ERA FOR SUPERCARS
paddle-shift transmission still needed a manual clutch, in contrast to modern dualclutch set-ups.
As special as these upgrades were, five of the 20 coupes produced, took things to another level. The CLK GTR SuperSport was the brainchild of AMG co-founder, Hans-Werner Aufrecht, whose company HWA was heavily involved in motorsport. The SuperSports were fitted with a 7.3-litre AMG V12 (the same powerplant used by the Pagani Zonda) tuned to a monstrous 655bhp. With the extra power on tap, HWA developed a front splitter to improve aerodynamic stability at high speed, and although performance figures for the SuperSport are difficult to find, a rumoured top speed of 370km/h has been whispered.
For the remaining five cars to be produced, HWA was given the task of converting them to roadsters. Starting with a base CLK GTR, the roof was surgically removed, and the rear wing received a black ‘bolton’ style hardtop similar to the GT1 car. The three-pointed star was enlarged and integrated in the grille (as opposed to the small badge featured on the coupe). Overall, the roadster’s visual landscape was louder and more excitable than its siblings, while the added weight from the rollbars (105kg), and reduced rigidity meant that the roadster was intended for a different clientele altogether. An additional sixth roadster was produced at the end of a very exclusive production line, rounding off 26 of the most collectable cars on the planet.
Through its three variants, the MercedesBenz CLK GTR soon became one of the most respected and collected supercars ever made. In many ways, it is the perfect encapsulation of the 1990s GT1 aesthetic, while seemingly able to age gracefully from one generation to the next. We've seen lots of homologation specials over the years, many of them extraordinary, but nothing quite compares to this. From a purely motorsport perspective, the car deserves to go down as one of the greats. But that competition-decimating performance on the track, coupled with the lunacy of evolving it into a road-going supercar, puts the CLK GTR in a class of its own.
The two cars featured in this article belong to Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Mohammed is a former rally driver, FIA councillor, and is owner of the world’s largest collections of supercars.
WE'VE SEEN LOTS OF HOMOLOGATION SPECIALS OVER THE YEARS, MANY OF THEM EXTRAORDINARY, BUT NOTHING QUITE COMPARES TO THIS.
SUCH WAS THE CLK’S DOMINANCE OVER THOSE TWO YEARS, NO MANUFACTURER WANTED TO COMPETE AGAINST MERCEDES-BENZ AND SUBSEQUENTLY, THE GT1 CLASS WAS SCRAPPED ALTOGETHER.