The Mercedes CLK GTR is one of the rarest supercars ever produced. In total, just 26 road-going versions of the car were built, with the car based on the racing version that dominated FIA GT racing in the late 1990s. Yet within that rare collection, some were even more exclusive.
Recently showcased by the gentlemancarworld Instagram account, the rarest of all CLKs has broken cover again, as the only example of the car to be painted in a stunning dark blue. This isn’t a repaint; it is exactly how this car left the Mercedes factory back in the 1990s.
This example of the CLK has all the features that made the original car so great. So the big V12 engine, the sparse cabin, the manual transmission, and the ludicrous speed. But it has that very special dark blue paint that just gives it that little bit extra over all other CLKs.
Mercedes created this as a race car first and a road car second. That is evident in the raw nature of the CLK, and this blue example shows that off to perfection. In terms of its value, this car could sell for well over $15 million.
This is why the CLK GTR was such a special Mercedes
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Mercedes first built the CLK GTR for the 1997 FIA GT Championship, and this is where it would earn the most fame. During its GT racing career, the car entered 13 races in total. Of those, it won eight of them, took pole at eight, and the fastest lap at seven events. The car also won two teams’ and drivers’ championships in 1997 and 1998.
Power came from a Mercedes-Benz LS600 6.0-liter V12 engine, producing 591hp and 516lb-ft of torque. That allowed the racing version to reach a top speed of 205mph, with a 0- 62 mph time of just 3.8 seconds. To homologate the car for racing, however, Mercedes had to build at least 25 road-going examples. So, that is exactly what it did, producing 28 in total, including the two prototypes, just to get the car homologated.
The road-going version had an M297 E69/E73 V12 under the hood. In the coupe version, it made 622hp, dropping to 604hp in the Roadster. But in the SuperSport model, the V12 made a staggering 655hp and 580lb-ft of torque. Of the production run, six cars were roadsters, and 20 were coupes, with two of those being in the SuperSport specification.
How Much Are the CLK GTRs Worth?
At the time of their manufacture, the Guinness World Records named the road-going CLK as the world’s most expensive production car. At the time, it would cost $1,547,620 to buy one of the CLKs, a record that stood until the Ferrari FXX-K was introduced in 2015. In November 2023, one of the six Roadster GTRs sold for $10.2 million, highlighting the value of the supercar.
Regarding the blue example, the figure could be even higher. While it is one of the ‘standard’ cars, the fact that it is the only one in this color makes it a proper one-off creation. A standard version is likely to cost between $8 million and $10 million, so you may be able to add another million or two to the price of this one. It might sound crazy, but that is exactly how much one-offs can cost.