BklynBenz

A driving machine with outstanding ride characteristics.

428 kW/582 horsepower, 800 newton-meters torque and the performance of a super sports car - the Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM AMG more than lives up to its reputation as a twin of last year s DTM Meisterauto from Bernd Schneider.

Now the first members of the German press who recently got to test this ultra-powerful coupé are also turning into believers. The prestigious Stuttgart magazine auto, motor and sport got to put the spectacular CLK DTM AMG through its first exhaustive testing. In the 18/2004 edition, this two-seater received high praise for its extremely tight-shifting and dynamically responsive eight-cylinder AMG engine, its superbly adapted and quick-reacting AMG SPEEDSHIFT automatic transmission and its outstanding ride characteristics. However, the testers were also surprised to realize that the CLK DTM AMG offers typical Mercedes suspension comfort despite its sports car flair. In its summary assessment, auto, motor and sport gave the CLK DTM AMG a rare maximum of five stars, justifying its rating with the conclusion: "Tremendous driving performance and excellent handling make the CLK DTM AMG the sportiest of all Mercedes models. For people who like to get noticed a driving machine as expensive as it is rare."

"For the boulevard and the pits lane" was the title of the test report produced by the largest German auto magazine, Auto Bild, on the CLK DTM AMG. In this area as well the evaluators were more than impressed by this fast coupé s performance capability. "Never has a road-approved test car shown better braking results for Auto Bild", was the comment on the braking test data. In emergency-style braking it only took 33.4 meters to reach a dead stop from 100 km/h.

Sport Auto , the monthly German magazine for sports cars and racing, describes its first driving impressions at the wheel of the CLK DTM AMG in nearly euphoric terms: "How does this beast get all that power out onto the street? 800 newton-meters! ........ Understeering? Don't bet on it, except in brutally narrow hairpin turns. The grip is excellent with warm tires, the traction exiting the curve is nearly unreal." The sound spectrum too of the 5.5 liter V8 AMG compressor engine provokes interesting descriptions: "...the baneful rumbling over 2,000 rpms, the dull V8 hammering with turbo-like twittering sounds when approaching maximum torque, the deep, diabolical growl while storming up to the 7,000/min end of the rpm scale." In its evaluation, Sport Auto also paid acknowledgement to the 20,000 kilometers the CLK DTM AMG covered during its development period on various different race tracks. Indeed, the car was thoroughly tested by former professional racers Klaus Ludwig, Dieter Glemser and the current DTM drivers Bernd Schneider, Jean Alesi and Markus Winkelhock on the famous/infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife, the Hockenheim Formula One raceway as well as the Jerez F1 test track in Spain.

The first CLK DTM AMG will be delivered into the hands of customers in mid-October, and by the end of 2004 around 20 vehicles will have left the production facility in Affalterbach. The identity of the first individual to receive a CLK DTM AMG must remain an unanswered question - he wishes to remain anonymous. However, one very prominent new owner of a CLK DTM AMG can be named: McLaren Mercedes pilot Kimi Raikkönen will be presented with the keys to his vehicles right on time for the start of the 2005 F1 season by Domingos Piedade, Head of Marketing, Sales and Global Relations at Mercedes AMG.