Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR
CLK LM
The Mercedes -Benz CLK GTR is a GT1 race car in the FIA GT Championship and derived therefrom exclusive supercar, built the AMG for Mercedes -Benz in small numbers.
- 4.1 body
- 4.2 Drive
- 4.3 prices
- 4.4 Versions and numbers
Initial situation
In late 1996, Opel and Alfa Romeo withdrew for reasons of cost from the DTM and ITC, so AMG -Mercedes had no more enemies and the touring car series has been discontinued. As a future field of activity of the racing team, the former BPR Global GT Series offered, which continued as the FIA GT Championship in 1997 and was even more interesting by inserts of manufacturers. Designated in the by the founders ( Jürgen Barth, Patrick Peter, Stéphane Ratel ) racing series were high-profile existing supercars such as the Ferrari F40 and McLaren F1 used, and indeed most of graduates private drivers, who were supported by racing professionals. Porsche 993 GT2 long represented only in the second division with the Porsche, the Porsche 911 GT1, however, had already developed for the season and brought into use, thus given a go-ahead to the arms race.
To participate in the GT1 class a minimum order of 25 built and road-legal copies was required, like this was some three decades earlier condition of the race for the Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512S. To enable Mercedes participation in 1997, but the FIA granted an exemption that allowed the " late filing ".
History
Thus, the AMG engineers have been able to construct a racing car in the winter 1996/97 within 128 days, without having to take too much consideration to existing models or roadworthiness. Except his name and physical features such as lights, the CLK GTR has little to do with serving as a model Mercedes -Benz CLK-Class ( W208 ) together, in particular the mid-engine layout with a V12 engine does not correspond to the series.
The new race car was used in the first half of the season for the first time and could end up winning the FIA GT Championship. In 1998, he dominated almost all the races. At Le Mans, the CLK LM further developed version was launched with a V8 engine from the pole position, but dropped out early with engine trouble. At the end of the 1998 season, withdrew the remaining opponents, that is primarily the only Le Mans happy victorious Porsche factory, from the GT1 category back. The private teams with Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus, etc. had resigned earlier. Thus, the FIA GT Championship was held in 1999 only in the series GT2 and GT3 categories closer.
The information required by the regulations, 25 copies of the production car were built and delivered only from November 1998 to the summer of 1999, not before the first part in the race series, but only after the "off" of the GT-1 category. 2002 yet emerged a few open copies. In 2003, the model made headlines because an American lamented unreliability.
Motorsport inserts
1997 CLK GTR
The CLK GTR was used from the 1997 season in the GT1 class of the FIA GT World Championship. The racing version due to the regulations took the later production cars anticipated. Externally visible differences were ground clearance, wheels, side mirrors and rear wing. Lessons from the already existing tree, some 10 year old concepts supercar of opponents who were mostly used by private teams and typically controlled alternately by a wealthy private citizen and a former professional race driver, had little chance against the professional and numerous occurring factory team, which also by the Exemption could use a consistently constructed for the regulations race car. Bernd Schneider won the championship by a wide margin; total occupied the AMG Mercedes - five of the first ten places. Other drivers were among others Ricardo Zonta, Klaus Ludwig, Bernd Mayländer. Also, Ralf Schumacher, then F1 newcomer to Jordan, contributed (like his brother Michael Schumacher a few years earlier ) one of the Silver Arrows, on the Circuit de Spa -Francorchamps in order to study the local path for the future F1 race.
1998 CLK GTR and CLK LM
In the season of 1998, the Mercedes cars dominated the scene more clearly. At the end of the work team Klaus Ludwig / Ricardo Zonta won the GT World Championship before the stablemates and defending champion Bernd Schneider. The private team Persson Motorsport sat blue painted, sponsored by Mercedes - year spare parts supply models, including among others with Bernd Mayländer at the wheel. As an additional advantage proved the Bridgestone tires in the same year for the first time McLaren -Mercedes helped in Formula 1 to the title and from then on proved to be superior in F1. The teams that began the evolution variant of the Porsche 911 GT1, the work with Michelin and the sponsored by the brewery Jever Team Zakspeed on Pirelli could not win a victory. The other teams, apart from their initial successes of the unusual front-engined Panoz from the United States, were a chance.
Set up by the plant from the 24 -hour race of Le Mans race CLK LM, a lower-profile version with a lighter, shorter and verbrauchsgünstigerem V8 engine, was there early with problems in the oil circuit. The BMW V12 Le Mans Roadster suffered a similar fate, where it hit the wheel bearings. Porsche achieved with the 911 GT1 against the faster, but unfortunate Toyota GT -One a moderate success, and then withdrew from Le Mans back. In the rest of the season, the revised version of the CLK LM on the Porsche, which were disadvantaged by an unfavorable arrangement due to the regulations of the air restrictor for the turbo engine dominated.
1999 CLR
By eliminating the GT1 class in the 1999 FIA GT Championship GT, a prototype was developed (LM- GTP) specifically for Le Mans and the local regulations and the serial proximity was no longer offered. The Mercedes -Benz CLR was visually to the newly offered CL-Class (Mercedes- Benz C 215 ) ajar, but extremely flat and more for speed than for output constructed. This one-sided interpretation of the aerodynamics caused two flashovers already in training and warm-up. Nevertheless, it took part with the remaining cars in the race, which resulted in a spectacular accident. When Peter Dumbreck on a hilltop in front of the Indianapolis curve tried to overtake a competitor out of the slipstream, tore off the pressure because too much wind penetrated under the bow. The car was lifted, flipped over backwards and flew into a birch protection far off the track. The driver suffered only bruises. After this accident DaimlerChrysler board member Juergen Hubbert explained (responsible for the Mercedes Car Group ), Mercedes 'll never drive at Le Mans. During the course of the season the work of his involvement ended in the GT World Championship.
Road variant
Body
The chassis and body are made of carbon fiber composite with integrated roll bar made of steel. Engine and transmission perform supporting functions. The doors open diagonally upward / forward and not to the legendary 300 SL Gullwing only upward, a quick ride with the doors open is therefore not possible. This and the extensive safety features ( front airbags ) the CLK GTR despite its light weight (: about 1.0 t, street car: race car 1.4t ) is very safe.
Drive
The engine sits directly in front of the rear axle, it is an evolution of the former 6.0 -liter V12 with a cylinder angle of 60 °, as it was used in the S 600. In road cars, it has a displacement of 6898 cc and delivers up to 464 kW ( 631 hp) at 6500 rpm, maximum torque is 731 Nm (at 5250 rpm ). The maximum speed is 7200 rpm. The race car of 1997 had made a displacement of 5987 cc and regulated by air restrictors, 441 kW ( 600 hp) at 7000 rpm.
This force is ( unusual for Mercedes, but in racing usual) routed through a six-speed sequential transmission to the rear wheels. Thus, the CLK GTR reaches a top speed of 320 km / h It accelerates in 3.7 s from 0 to 100 km / h It is shifted with paddle shifts behind the steering wheel.
The vehicles with the production numbers # 03 and # 17 are equipped with the more modern 7.3 -liter V12 AMG engine developing 488 kW ( 664 hp). Other sources speak of up to 530 kW ( 720 hp). These cars were from the racing department HWA rebuilt. The silver car with chassis number 3 belongs to the Arab Sheikh Mohammed Bin Sulayem. It is the first delivered CLK-GTR and got later in Dubai the larger engine. Chassis number 17 is the only vehicle, which is officially called " Super Sport " means. The red car, which at that time also belonged to a buyer from Dubai, delivered HWA simultaneously with the stronger engine. This vehicle is located after detours via Switzerland in the U.S. today. According to unconfirmed reports, another three CLK-GTR were subsequently equipped with the 7.3 - liter twelve- cylinder (prototype # 2, chassis # 01 and # 13).
Prices
The purchase price was DM 2,650,000 ( inclusive of German value added 3.074 million DM; € 1,571,711 ). With this award, the CLK GTR was at that time the most expensive production car in the world. The current used prices are slightly lower, which may be due to limited everyday suitability of the racing technology and newly released alltagstauglicheren competitors.
Versions and numbers
For the development CLK LM racing season 1998, the flatter evolution variant with a V8 engine, only a street version was built to homologation. This was spotted in advance of the 24 - hour race at Le Mans in 1998 and was later sold to a customer in Japan.
All coupes were built between late 1998 and the summer of 1999 at HWA in Affalterbach. 2002 was launched by the CLK GTR, a second small-series with five copies, as CLK GTR Roadster, with no soft top.
Among the 25 produced CLK -GTR (20 coupes and five roadsters, except the single piece CLK LM) are also two right-hand drive. These two silver cars were for Hassanal Bolkiah, the Sultan of Brunei, specially made.