This is the unthinkably rare 2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Roadster, chassis WDB2973971Y000034, the third of just seven total roofless examples built for the entire world. Mercedes-Benz AMG GmBH, commonly shortened to just AMG, was founded as AMG Motorenbau und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH in the year 1967 by two Mercedes engineers by the name of Erhard Melcher and Hans-Werner Aufrecht. The AMG division earned considerable respect after tuning and racing Mercedes’ reliable engines in the European Sports Car Championship throughout the early portion of it’s existence. By the mid to late 1990’s, AMG was tasked with developing a race car, and a road homologation variant for Mercedes-Benz to race in the FIA GT Championship, which was a sports car racing series coordinated by Stéphane Ratel Organisation at the command of the Fédération Internationale de L’Automobile. Mercedes-Benz and AMG designed, built, and tested the CLK GTR, a racecar designed to compete in the GT1 class for the FIA GT championship, as well as the homologated road versions in approximately 4 months time. The racing version of the CLK GTR took both the drivers and teams to championships in ‘97 and ‘98, winning 17 of the 22 races it entered. Some key differences between the Roadster example shown here, as opposed to the racing versions and the coupe versions are door-mounted mirrors, integrated roll-hoops, the relocation of the engine air intake from the roof to the sides, a new front grille and a re-designed rear wing.
How many made? including prototype cars, 7 Roadsters, 22 Straßenversion road cars, 9 race cars. Two CLK-GTRs received “Super Sport” specifications (7.3 engine) from the factory, and a handful of others were updated afterwards.
Engine: 6,898 / 7,291 cc (420.9 / 444.9 cu in) M297 E69/E73 V12 - 604hp
Debut: 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show (Straßenversion)
Top speed: about 214mph
0-60: about 3.6 seconds.
Photo credit: @scottsdale_carspotting
Research: @rarecarsonly