Ultra-rare Mercedes CLK DTM AMG Cabriolet Nabs $250K at Auction
Most automakers wouldn’t dream of building a convertible version of their street-legal race car. But not Mercedes.
Throughout the history of the automobile, convertibles have remained shrouded by a particular falsehood. And that is the supposed fact that performance doesn’t mix with drop tops. In the old days, that was certainly true. After all, why would somebody waste their time trying to extract performance from something that weighs more and is less structurally sound than its fixed roof counterpart? Well, back in 2009, Mercedes ignored all of that and built this – the CLK DTM AMG Cabriolet.
Well, they built 80 of them, to be exact. And one of those very few examples recently sold for a significant $256,484 at RM Sotheby’s 2018 London auction. Which was a bit below the auction house’s initial estimate of $288k-$352k, but not too shabby for a convertible, we’d say. Especially one that has a fascinating history, as the Mercedes CLK DTM AMG certainly does.
When Mercedes driver Bernd Schneider scored the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) championship win in 2003, Mercedes wanted to cook up something special to celebrate that feat. Thus, they decided to build a street-legal version of that very racer as a bit of a tribute. A couple version came first, obviously, sporting wide fender flares, massive rolling stock, and aggressive bodywork that included a huge rear wing.
The real story is what lies under the hood, however – a supercharged 5.5-liter V8 producing 582 hp. It could spring to 60 in less than four seconds and reach a top speed of just under 200 mph. Throw in a sublime Alcantara-stitched interior, and you’ve got one special ride.
After building just 100 coupes, Mercedes decided to construct 80 convertibles. Which, of course, was an interesting decision. But you can’t deny the uniqueness of the finished result. These hi-po convertibles are undeniable cool, especially when you consider that most automakers wouldn’t have the guts to do something like this. And with only 964 miles on the odometer, this might just be the nicest one left in existence!
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