Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR

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Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR
naturally aspirated mid-engined
Transmission6-speed sequential manual
Weight1,000 kg (2,205 lb)[3]
FuelMobil 96-octane petrol[4]
BrakesCarbon-composite
TyresBridgestone
ClutchFour-plate carbon fibre
Competition history
Notable entrantsAMG
Persson Motorsport
Notable drivers
Debut1997 FIA GT Hockenheim 4 Hours
First win1997 Suzuka 1000 km
Last win1998 FIA GT Silverstone 500 km
Last event1998 FIA GT Laguna Seca 500 km
RacesWinsPolesF/Laps
13887
Teams' Championships2 (
1998 FIA GT
)

The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR (chassis code C297)[5] is a GT1 sports car built and produced by Mercedes-Benz in conjunction with their then motorsport partner AMG. Intended for racing in the new FIA GT Championship series in 1997, the CLK GTR was designed primarily as a race car. As such, the production of road cars necessary in order to meet homologation standards of GT1 was a secondary consideration in the car's design, i.e. the CLK GTR was a homologation special.[6][7]

After its successful campaign in the

Le Mans Grand Touring Prototype (LMGTP) regulations. This sports car was a purpose-built racecar that did not have to abide by the homologation rules of the previous GT1 cars.[8]

Background

The Mercedes-AMG DTM W202 C-Class

Following the

Sauber, this partnership bloomed into a full-time factory-backed effort. Despite Mercedes winning the World Sportscar Championship twice in 1989 and 1990, they eventually withdrew at the end of 1991 following disappointing results.[10]

However, Mercedes saw success elsewhere, with a burgeoning touring car program in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, where the 190 E and its Evolution I and II siblings were climbing up the ranks. The 1991 season would see the 190 E Evo II take the honours in the constructors' championship. Klaus Ludwig piloted the car to the 1992 drivers' championship, with the 190 E being replaced by the W202 C-Class following the conclusion of the 1993 season. The C-Class went on to dominate both drivers and constructors championships from 1994 to 1996; as a result of the domination the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft/International Touring Car Championship folded in late 1996, with both remaining competitors Opel and Alfa Romeo withdrawing due to the rising costs.[11][12][13]

Without a top series to compete in, Mercedes-Benz looked towards the

Mercedes-Benz CLK.[20][21]

The CLK GTR was developed in a mere 128 days, this development time hastened by the purchase of McLaren F1 GTR chassis #11R from then-reigning

BMW S70 engine replaced by Mercedes' own powerplant, a M120 V12.[22][23] The car was eventually restored to its original mechanical condition, and was auctioned off in Monaco in 2000 by RM Sotheby's.[24][23][25]

Specifications

The chassis of the CLK GTR was a carbon-fibre

brake bias the only aid allowed.[4][27] The front and rear suspension were identical, consisting of double wishbones, with pull-rod actuated coil springs with adjustable shocks.[4]

Racing history

The CLK GTR debuted at Mercedes' home track, the Hockenheimring, at the 1997 FIA GT Hockenheim 4 Hours. Bernd Schneider qualified on pole and took the fastest lap, but had to retire due to braking problems. The sister No. 10 CLK GTR only mustered a 27th-place finish, also battling mechanical woes.[29][27][28] Still, the pace of the car was promising, and after intense development over the summer break, Mercedes would score their first 1-2 finish at the 1997 FIA GT Nürburgring 4 Hours with Schneider and Klaus Ludwig taking the win.[27]

The rest of the season saw the CLK GTR take three more 1-2 finishes, and wins at the 1997 FIA GT Sebring 3 Hours and 1997 FIA GT Laguna Seca 3 Hours would secure Mercedes the constructors' and drivers' championship with Schneider in their maiden season.[27][21] Mercedes opted not to enter that year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, as AMG understood that the V12 in the CLK GTR was better tailored to the 4-hour sprints of the FIA GT Championship rather than the 24-hour gruel of the Circuit de la Sarthe. Instead, Mercedes and AMG decided to develop a bespoke car for next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, an evolution of the CLK GTR dubbed the CLK LM, LM for Le Mans.[21][27]

Straßenversion

Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Straßenversion
Kerb weight
1,440 kg (3,175 lb)
1,410 kg (3,109 lb) (roadster)
Chronology
PredecessorMercedes-Benz C112 (spiritual)
SuccessorMercedes-Benz CLK LM Straßenversion

The road-legal

Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah.[37][38]

Former

racing driver and motoring journalist Paul Frère test drove the CLK GTR around the Hockenheimring. Writing for Road & Track magazine, he praised the car's tractability, despite its immense power. He also applauded the effort put in by Mercedes-Benz to make the car more user-friendly, including large amounts of soundproofing to reduce the mechanical noise from the transmission and engine, although critiqued the cramped cockpit space despite the large width of the car, and its driveability in city conditions, due to its non-synchronous transmission and large amount of torque available from low rpm. He ended his review describing the car as a "real work of art".[39]

Specifications

The engine was stroked out to 6,898 cc (420.9 cu in) by

PS) at 6,500 rpm and 731 N⋅m (539 lb⋅ft) at 5,250 rpm.[31][21] Sending this power to the rear wheels was a 6-speed sequential manual transmission with a four-plate carbon fibre clutch.[21] This gave the GTR a 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) of 3.8 seconds, and a claimed top speed of over 320 km/h (199 mph), depending on gearing.[31][4] The 18-inch centrelocking wheels were fitted with 295/35ZR18 Bridgestone tyres at the front and 345/35ZR18 at the rear.[31] Stopping power was provided by 6-piston calipers and carbon-composite rotors measuring 380 mm (15.0 in) at the front and 335 mm (13.2 in) at the rear.[21]

The road car received several amenities such as ABS, air-conditioning and an audio system. Bins for luggage were located under each door, as was the control for the fire suppression system on the driver side.[35][40] Owners had the option of fitting their seats with tartan, leather, or Alcantara, with four-point harnesses for safety.[35][40] Like the race car, the CLK GTR only shared the headlights, taillights and grille with the roadgoing CLK, and many exterior design elements such as the roof-mounted air dams, and NACA ducts on the sills were retained.[21] Mercedes decided not to modify the CLK GTR to comply with United States safety regulations, and all examples imported to the U.S. were under Show or Display exemptions.[41][28]

Roadster

The Sultan of Brunei's CLK GTR Roadster.

When the first production run of 20 CLK GTR coupés ended in 1999,

DaimlerChrysler in 2006, claiming that when he had taken it for a test drive with a customer, the oil gauge lit up and the transmission promptly failed.[44] The next five would be converted from coupés to roadsters based on existing GTR chassis by HWA, and were made available in 2006.[45][46][47]

Modifications to the coupé included moving the engine intake from the roof to the sides, door-mounted mirrors, an integrated rollbar behind the seats, a revised front grille and rear wing which resembled the fixed rear wing of the race cars.

Sultan of Brunei, and was sold to Indian businessman Vijay Mallya in 2009.[50][51]

Interior

SuperSport

Two chassis would also leave the AMG factory in SuperSport specification. The original 6,898 cc (420.9 cu in) E69 engine was superseded with the larger, more powerful 7,291 cc (444.9 cu in) E73 M297. This same engine was also found in the

kW; 655 hp) at 6,500 rpm and 786 N⋅m (580 lb⋅ft) at 5,250 rpm.[33][45]

Visual changes included a speedometer that was etched to 400 km/h (249 mph) and a redesigned front splitter.

kW).[45][52]

Legacy

At the time of manufacture,

Ferrari FXX-K in 2015.[55]

Along with its GT1 siblings, the

sportscar racing.[30][56][57][58][59][60]

Racing results

Complete FIA GT Championship results

Year Entrant Class Drivers No. Rds. Rounds Pts. Pos.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1997 Germany Team AMG-Mercedes GT1 Italy Alessandro Nannini
Germany Marcel Tiemann
Germany Klaus Ludwig
Germany Bernd Schneider 		10 1–10
1–2, 4–10
3
7 		HOC
13 		SIL
13 		HEL
11 		NÜR
2 		SPA
11 		ZEL
2 		SUZ
1 		DON
2 		MUG
2 		SEB
Ret 		LAG
8 		110 1st
Germany Bernd Schneider
Austria Alexander Wurz
Germany Klaus Ludwig
Japan Aguri Suzuki 		11 1–11
1–3, 5–9
4, 10–11
7
 HOC
Ret 		SIL
2 		HEL
8 		NÜR
1 		SPA
2 		ZEL
4 		SUZ
7 		DON
1 		MUG
Ret 		SEB
1 		LAG
1
Germany Klaus Ludwig
Germany Bernd Mayländer
Germany Ralf Schumacher
Austria Alexander Wurz
Canada Greg Moore 		12 4–9
4, 6–9
5
10–11
10–11 		NÜR
Ret 		SPA
5 		ZEL
1 		SUZ
2 		DON
4 		MUG
9 		SEB
7 		LAG
7
1998 Germany Team AMG-Mercedes GT1 Germany Bernd Schneider
Australia Mark Webber 		1 All
All 		OSC
3 		SIL
1 		146 1st
Brazil Ricardo Zonta
Germany Klaus Ludwig 		2 All
All 		OSC
1 		SIL
4
Germany Team Persson Motorsport France Christophe Bouchut
Germany Bernd Mayländer 		11 All
All 		OSC
Ret 		SIL
7 		HOC
10 		DIJ
4 		HUN
DNS 		SUZ
4 		DON
8 		A1R
10 		HOM
Ret 		LAG
6 		24 3rd
Germany Marcel Tiemann
France Jean-Marc Gounon 		12 All
All 		OSC
2 		SIL
Ret 		HOC
4 		DIJ
5 		HUN
Ret 		SUZ
7 		DON
5 		A1R
5 		HOM
5 		LAG
7
Source:[61][62]
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

Bold – Pole position
Italics – Fastest lap

See also

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