The CLK GTR: The Gentleman’s Hypercar
I am continually amazed at the level of lunacy that’s actually let loose on public roads. It’s not just Hellcats, Veyrons or even the new breed of hybrid hypercars that truly astonish me. It isn’t even the tuner specials with 2,000 horsepower. Rather, it’s those select few homologated cars that international racing organizations require manufacturers to build to allow them to go racing.
Case in point: the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR.
The CLK GTR was originally built as a racecar that would compete at the infamous 24 hours of Le Mans. However, to meet the ACO’s rules, Mercedes was required to build a total of 25 road cars that mirrored the racecar. That meant using a 6.0L V12 engine that pumped out 604 horsepower and 572 lb-ft of torque, which was enough for the car to sprint to 62 mph in just 3.8 seconds.
Upon launch, the car was an immediate success, not only on the public consumer level, but also on the racing level, which gave the CLK GTR even more presence as it was truly bred from racing.
The CLK GTR is one of those cars that, even at almost 20 years old, still looks like a car you’d find posted on the wall of a young boy’s bedroom today.
The CLK GTR can still hang its hat with the Paganis and Ferraris of the world, and by all accounts it was a properly fast car. Additionally, it remains one of the last real racecars for the road. Nowadays, McLaren and Ferrari won’t let you take their track-focused creations past the confines of a circuit. The CLK GTR lets you truly experience what a race car for the road would actually be like.
The silver CLK GTR shown here, though, has led an even more interesting life; one that involved being destroyed only to rise from the ashes back to the state it’s in. And guess what? It’s for sale.
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Photos [GTSpirit]