The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Is a $10 Million Hypercar Legend

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CHECK OUT CARS & BIDS! https://crsnbds.com/doug  This is a 2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR and it's a legendary road legal race car. Only 28 of these crazy cars exist in the entire world and they sell for $10-15 Million each. Today I'm reviewing this CLK GTR and I'll show you the many quirks and features. I'm also going to get behind the wheel and show you what it's like to drive.  CHECK OUT FASTRRR LLC ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@Fastrrr_llc?feature=shared  CHECK OUT FASTRRR LLC ON INSTAGRAM @fastrrr_llc https://www.instagram.com/fastrrr_llc/?hl=en  NEW MERCH! https://merch.carsandbids.com  FOLLOW CARS & BIDS! YouTube -  @carsandbids   Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/carsandbids/ TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@cars_and_bids Twitter - https://twitter.com/carsandbids  FOLLOW ME! Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/dougdemuro Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/dougdemuro Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/ddemuro  DOUGSCORE CHART: https://www.dougdemuro.com/dougscore  CHAPTERS: 00:00 THIS... 00:39 CARS & BIDS!!! 01:10 Fastrrr LLC 01:39 The CLK GTR Race Car 02:32 Road Going Race Car 04:18 V12 Power 05:27 Shared Parts 06:54 More Exterior Quirks & Features 09:05 Door Sill Storage 10:53 Interior Quirks & Features 11:46 Weird Transmission 13:45 More Seat Quirks 14:18 Shared Interior Parts 16:10 Some Distinctive Interior Touches 18:02 Detachable Steering Wheel 19:07 Hydraulic Jack System 20:52 More Exterior Quirks & Features 24:04 Removable Body Panels 24:38 Under the Rear Clam Shell 26:43 Under the Front Clam Shell 28:06 More Front End Quirks 28:55 Wasn't Sold In The USA 29:56 Vroom Vroom 30:31 Driving Experience 36:02 Final Thoughts 36:34 DougScore  #dougdemuro #carsandbids #mercedesbenz #clkgtr

Transcript

00:00This is a 2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, and it's an all-time automotive legend.

00:09This is the road-legal version of a famous race car, and it's one of the most exciting Mercedes-Benz models in history.

00:18Just 28 of these exist in the entire world, and they sell for $10-15 million each.

00:27Today, I'm going to review the iconic CLK GTR and show you all of its quirks and features.

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01:10All right, time for the quirks and features of the CLK GTR.

01:16And first, a big thank you to Faster LLC, which is a YouTube channel and an Instagram account devoted to a very special car collection that includes this vehicle and some others.

01:28I'm going to link both below in the description.

01:30You should follow along and subscribe to the channel because there's obviously some great stuff, and there's great content coming.

01:37Thanks again to Faster LLC.

01:39But anyway, let's talk CLK GTR quirks and features, starting with the basics.

01:45Now, like I said, this is the road-legal version of a very famous race car, the CLK GTR race car, which competed in the now-defunct GT1 race series in the late 90s.

01:58This car was very successful.

02:00It won big races at Nurburgring, Sebring, and Laguna Seca.

02:05And later versions of this car also competed at Le Mans, where a later version, the CLR, very famously took flight in the middle of the race.

02:15It lifted up off the ground like an airplane and landed in the woods next to the racetrack.

02:21That wasn't the GTR, but a later version of this car with fairly similar bodywork.

02:26And so a lot of enthusiasts know this car from that incident and from its other race success.

02:32Now, in order to compete in GT1 racing in the late 90s by the rules of the class, Mercedes-Benz had to make a road-going version of its race car.

02:43And that's this, the CLK GTR Straßenversion, the road version.

02:49And rivals had to do the same.

02:51And that's why we have the road version of the Porsche 911 GT1 with similar long-tail bodywork that looks like a race car.

02:59And, of course, the very famous McLaren F1 GTR.

03:03That was a fellow GT1 competitive car that had to make a road version in order to compete.

03:09Now, in terms of the CLK GTR, production was tremendously limited.

03:14Mercedes-Benz built just 28 of these cars for the entire world.

03:20There are 20 coupes, 6 roadsters like this one with an open roof, and 2 prototype cars.

03:2728 for the whole planet.

03:29That's all.

03:31Now, Mercedes-Benz made this car from 1998 through 2002.

03:35And per the GT1 class rules, it had to be based on a road car, which in this case was the Mercedes CLK.

03:43The regular, everyday Mercedes-Benz CLK.

03:47Now, it wasn't really based on that car.

03:50It shares practically nothing.

03:52And that was also true of the Porsche 911 GT1.

03:54But they had their origins, so to speak, in a road car.

03:59Even though it's obviously completely different from the Mercedes-Benz CLK that your grandmother's friends had when you were growing up.

04:07Now, with that said, this car does share a very small few parts with the actual road-going CLK, which I'll show you in a minute.

04:19One thing that's definitely not shared with the regular CLK is the powertrain.

04:24It's mid-mounted in this car, and it's a 6.9 liter V12 that makes 625 horsepower and about 540 pound-feet of torque.

04:36This is the Mercedes-Benz M270 engine, and it was loosely based on the V12 that powered the regular Mercedes-Benz SL at the time.

04:46But heavily revised and enlarged to go into this car.

04:50In fact, this version of the engine was only used in the CLK GTR and some versions of the Pagani Zonda.

04:57It was a very special powertrain for a very special car.

05:01Now, some of the CLK GTR models were revised to offer an even larger powertrain, an even bigger V12, and they called those the CLK GTR Supersport.

05:12This is not one of the Supersport cars, so it will have to make do with a mere 6.9 liter V12 doing 0-60 in the mid-3 second range on its way to a top speed of around 200 miles an hour.

05:28But anyway, next let's start diving into the quirkier quirks, and specifically, let's start with shared parts.

05:35Because this car shares more stuff with other Mercedes-Benz models than you might expect, given its rarity and price tag.

05:44We will begin with the key, which you can see here is just a pretty regular Mercedes-Benz key.

05:50It's a CLK or C-Class key from the late 90s, early 2000s, like they would have been in any other Mercedes-Benz model, except, of course, this isn't exactly any other Mercedes-Benz model.

06:02Amazingly, this car also shares a few other exterior parts with regular Mercedes-Benz models, like the door handles, which are just borrowed from a regular old Mercedes-Benz CLK.

06:14They took those CLK door handles off the production line, and they were put on something a little more special.

06:20Incredibly, it's the same deal up front with the grille and the headlights.

06:25Even though the GT-R is totally different from the regular CLK, it shares those parts with the standard car.

06:32The owner of this car told me he thinks they could just order a new grille and headlights from a CLK, go get one out of a junkyard, and it would fit into the GT-R.

06:41And it's the same deal with the taillights in back.

06:44CLK enthusiasts will notice these taillights come straight from the regular late 90s Mercedes-Benz CLK.

06:52They're shared precisely with that car.

06:55But once you get past those few shared Mercedes-Benz parts, well, that's when things start to get different.

07:02For example, you go to pull on your regular Mercedes-Benz CLK door handle, and the door comes up, which it doesn't do in a normal CLK.

07:11And there are a lot of interesting quirks about this door.

07:14One thing I love is how they've wrapped the door hinge in leather.

07:18You can see here, to kind of class it up a little bit so you don't have some ugly exposed door hinge, but instead a leather-wrapped one.

07:26On the inside of this door panel, you can see the door handle is just a regular Mercedes-Benz door handle that was used in other models in this era.

07:35But the window on this door panel certainly is not.

07:39This window is fixed in place.

07:42It doesn't roll down, and this curve is fixed.

07:45It's always there in that spot.

07:48That's how the window is on the CLK GT-R Roadster, and it doesn't change.

07:52And weirdly enough, that window actually sort of pushes into the windshield frame, as you can see.

07:58It sort of, like, goes up the side of the frame, and there's a little cutout to make way for that window's placement.

08:04A rather unusual design detail.

08:06And actually, if you look at the windshield, you can see it's a little bit unusual, too.

08:12It's curved rather distinctively on the top.

08:15It makes this sort of U-shaped curve on the top around the passenger compartment, which gives it kind of a unique look and shape.

08:22And one thing you'll notice if you look at that windshield curve is there's no latches where you can put a roof.

08:28And that's because the CLK GT-R Roadster didn't have a roof.

08:33You simply didn't get one.

08:35There's no temporary top you can put on when it's parked.

08:37There's no top you put on when it's driving.

08:39You just don't drive the car if it's going to be wet.

08:43Then you'd take your CLK GT-R Coupe instead.

08:46One other interesting thing this car is missing is on the inside of the door, a handle that you can grab in order to close the door.

08:53It's not there.

08:54Instead, you just have this leather panel, and I guess you're supposed to close the door using that fixed window.

09:00So you have to touch it and get fingerprints on it every time you want to close the door, but that's just the way it is.

09:06And the quirks continue from there.

09:08With the door up, you can see one of this car's most distinctive interior features.

09:13Specifically, its absolutely massive door sill.

09:17From the outside of the car all the way to the seat, there's like two feet of door sill in here.

09:23It's huge, it's giant, and it contains a storage compartment.

09:29So this panel here with the little plaque on it that says AMG CLK GT-R Roadster Limited Edition No. 3.

09:36It announces the car every time you climb inside.

09:39That panel can be removed.

09:41There's this little latch here, as you can see.

09:43You pull that off, and it reveals a storage compartment.

09:46And actually, a pretty sizable one.

09:48In fact, it's so large that this compartment contains a six-disc CD changer, like you would have found in other Mercedes-Benz models trunk-mounted at the time.

09:59Here, the six-disc CD changer is in the door sill storage compartment, which is crazy.

10:05You'll also notice in here at the back, there's a little panel.

10:08You open this up, and that's where your fuse box is in the CLK GT-R.

10:12I bet you didn't know that one.

10:14Now, there is a similar-sized door sill on the other side, on the passenger side of the car as well.

10:19You can see same door sill, same plaque announcing how special this car is.

10:24And there is the same panel, and that's because the passenger side also has a storage compartment in here.

10:30Once again, you open it up, and this one is actually even larger than the driver's side because it doesn't contain that six-disc CD changer.

10:37So, those are your storage compartments.

10:39And it's important to point out, that's the only storage compartment you get in this car.

10:43There's no real trunk. There's no glove box.

10:45Your only storage is limited to those door sill pockets.

10:48But, they're bigger than you might expect in a crazy road car race car like this.

10:54But anyway, next we climb inside the CLK GT-R.

10:57And that's when the insanity of this car really begins.

11:01Okay, so the seats are fixed in place.

11:04They do not move.

11:06You can see the backrest of the seats is actually fixed to the rear part of the passenger compartment.

11:11It doesn't move for anybody. There's nowhere to move it.

11:13You can't change its position.

11:15Amazingly, the steering wheel in this car is also fixed in place.

11:20So, the seats are fixed and the steering wheel is fixed.

11:22The owner of this car told me, basically, you either fit or you don't.

11:26That's just the way it works in the CLK GT-R.

11:30Now, amazingly, the cushions for the seats themselves are actually velcroed.

11:34The backrest onto the rear part of the passenger compartment.

11:37You can just un-velcro them and rip them out.

11:40Maybe you could add thinner cushions if you needed more space.

11:42Although, I suspect that would be a rather difficult part to find.

11:46Now, as you're probably realizing, this car has a lot of bizarre and interesting quirks and features.

11:53But, one of the most interesting is undoubtedly the transmission.

11:58In the center, you will notice just a silver ball.

12:01What does that do?

12:04We'll get back to that in a second.

12:06The quirkiest part of the transmission is that it has a regular manual transmission with a clutch pedal.

12:12But, the gear changes are operated with paddles behind the steering wheel.

12:17You can see, behind the wheel, you have up and then an up arrow on the right side.

12:21And down and the down arrow on the left side.

12:23This is how you change gear.

12:25Unlike, basically, every other paddle shift car, you have to push the clutch pedal in, in order to change through the gears.

12:33Just like a regular manual transmission with a pattern, except rather than using your hand and moving the shift lever,

12:39you're using the paddles on the steering wheel simultaneously with the clutch pedal when you're shifting gears.

12:46It sounds bizarre, a manual transmission, but with paddles, that's how it works in this car.

12:51And, in case you have the same questions as I did, here are your answers.

12:55To get into neutral, you just downshift from first gear.

12:59When you're in first, you press downshift with the clutch engaged, and then you go into neutral.

13:03And, yes, if you come up to a stop, like a traffic light, you have to have the clutch pedal engaged or the vehicle in neutral,

13:10or else it will stall, just like a regular manual transmission car.

13:14Again, think of it like a regular manual, but instead of a gear pattern, it's those paddles.

13:19So, you're thinking, okay, I get that, that all makes sense, but what is that silver ball in the center?

13:25And the answer to that one is reverse gear.

13:28If you want to go into reverse, you shift the car down into neutral using the paddles,

13:32and then you press the silver button on top of the silver ball.

13:36You move it backwards, the car goes into reverse, and then you can back up.

13:41That is your CLK GTR reverse gear.

13:45But, anyway, beyond the quirky transmission, let's get into some of the other interesting quirks in here,

13:50starting with the seatbelts, which you can see are racing harnesses.

13:53This is original equipment. The car came with these AMG racing harnesses.

13:57They look cool, and, of course, they keep you in place.

14:00Also, with the seat, you'll notice the headrest for the seat is actually separate from the seat itself,

14:06and it is also fixed in place to the rear of the passenger compartment, just below these holes behind everything.

14:13Again, not adjustable at all, and very bespoke compared to other Mercedes-Benz models.

14:19Now, interestingly, despite this car's rather unique nature, it has climate control.

14:25You can see right here, climate control with air conditioning, in fact, just as if it were any other Mercedes-Benz model.

14:33In fact, some of the air conditioning vents, you can see the ones on the side,

14:36are just regular Mercedes vents that are tilted 90 degrees in order to fit better into this spot.

14:43They just gave you a normal climate control system like a normal Mercedes-Benz would have.

14:48And it's the same deal with some of the other stuff in here.

14:51This power mirror switch is the exact same one in my Mercedes G-Wagon from this era.

14:56Same deal with the switch to turn on the hazard lights, as you can see,

14:59and same deal with the switch to turn off ASR, the traction control system.

15:03Although, in this car, turning that off has a probably much more important effect than it would if you pressed that button in your E300 diesel.

15:13Now, you will also notice that this car includes a radio, a regular old radio like a lot of other Mercedes-Benz models had at this time.

15:22A regular Harman Kardon head unit that was used actually in a lot of vehicles, not just Mercedes-Benz.

15:26They also put it in the CLK GTR.

15:29And it's the same deal with the stalk coming off the steering column for the turn signals and the windshield wiper.

15:35Again, same stuff from regular Mercedes-Benz models.

15:38If you're into Mercedes from this era, you will recognize that instantly.

15:41Also, same deal with the headlight switch used in a lot of other Mercedes-Benz models from this era.

15:46Now, the switch for the dimmer, the interior light dimmer, is a little different.

15:51You can see it goes up, down here to dim or brighten your interior lights.

15:54And in the center of that switch, there is a tiny little button that allows you to reset your trip odometer.

16:00I haven't seen that in other Mercedes-Benz models.

16:03But, a lot of the switch gear in here really is similar to other Mercedes, despite just how special this car is.

16:10Now, despite some shared stuff with other Mercedes-Benz vehicles, there's also a lot of very special, unique, distinctive stuff in here.

16:19For example, let's start with the floor mats, which you can see are special CLK GTR floor mats.

16:25They're very unassuming. They just say CLK GTR on the usual Mercedes-Benz badge font.

16:30But that is really cool. You don't get those floor mats in any other car.

16:35Same deal with this plaque here in the center, similar to the ones on the door sill, that says AMG CLK GTR Roadster Limited Edition No. 3.

16:42Although, I must question their choice of font for the word Roadster.

16:46It looks so cheesy, like a 90s graphic that you would have on some computer font.

16:51Although, I guess this is a 90s car, so maybe that makes sense.

16:55You will also find that Roadster logo in the gauge cluster.

16:58You look in here, you can see this is a different cluster than a normal Mercedes-Benz model.

17:03It has Roadster right in the center, again in that cheesy 90s font.

17:07I can't believe that font delivers the word Roadster to one of the rarest, most valuable modern cars in existence.

17:14But here you also have some other special things, specifically a 200 mph speedometer.

17:19You don't get that in your E300 diesel.

17:22And this little window over to the right in the gauge cluster will tell you what gear you're in.

17:27Which is obviously important since you don't have a regular shift pattern to tell you.

17:31It's nice to have a display there showing at all times what gear you're in.

17:35Another nice little quirk in this interior.

17:38I love how the dashboard curves around the radio and then makes this sharp curve into the center.

17:44In order to provide the passenger with as much foot room as absolutely possible over here.

17:50It's still rather tight over here on the passenger side.

17:53The driver gets more space. It is not a completely symmetrical cabin.

17:57But they tried to give you a little extra with that curved line coming next to the radio.

18:03Another interesting quirk in here, the steering wheel.

18:06This wheel looks like a steering wheel that a lot of other Mercedes-Benz models had in the late 90s.

18:11Specifically AMG models, like the C43.

18:14But it's different because it's detachable.

18:18This wheel can actually detach and come off the car, which is common on race cars.

18:22Not common on a regular Mercedes-Benz CLK.

18:26But it can come off completely detached, which can make it easier to get in and out.

18:29That's not as big of an issue with the Roadster.

18:31But the owner of this car tells me the coupe is tremendously difficult to get inside.

18:35And removing that steering wheel probably makes it easier to climb in and out.

18:39And one other quirk in here, worth pointing out, the parking brake in this car.

18:43Which, yes, you must engage when parking this car in neutral.

18:47Just like a manual, it would roll away.

18:49The parking brake is mounted here, next to the driver's seat.

18:52Between the driver's seat and the door sill.

18:55Not in the center like in so many other cars.

18:58Over on the passenger side, that area of the interior is just empty.

19:02So I guess you could use that for a little extra storage.

19:05If you had some other items that you wanted to put in there.

19:08And next we move back outside the car.

19:10Where there are several other rather special items to point out.

19:13We start with this little flap next to the driver's door.

19:17It looks like a fuel door, but actually it isn't.

19:21In order to open up this flap, you push the bottom center of it.

19:24And it sort of pops open and it reveals three rather interesting things.

19:29One is a battery cutoff switch.

19:31If you're not going to be using the car for a while.

19:33And a lot of people with these cars probably wouldn't be.

19:36You would turn that switch, kill the battery, and then it won't drain while it's parked.

19:39Which is a common problem with collector cars like this that sit for a long time.

19:43Also in this area, you have a little filler cap.

19:46You open it up and add windshield washer fluid in here.

19:50Not fuel, but washer fluid.

19:52However, the most interesting thing inside this little flap is undoubtedly the hydraulic jack system for this car.

20:00This car has self jacks.

20:02They're built in.

20:03And you press here and the car, when it's running, will actually automatically jack itself up.

20:09So you can easily do a tire change.

20:11This is actually pretty common in race cars.

20:14And very uncommon in road cars.

20:17But this one has it.

20:18Three jacking points that will automatically raise the car off the ground.

20:22So that you can do a tire change.

20:24Your pit crew can change your tires.

20:26And when you're done, you can press this button again.

20:29And the hydraulic jacks will automatically lower the car back onto the ground.

20:33So you can drive away.

20:35Of course, you can also see there's a little warning label inside this flap.

20:39Reminding you never to drive while the jacks are up.

20:42Make sure they're completely down, gone before you drive away.

20:46Otherwise, damage will be done.

20:48That should be obvious, but it's still important to point out.

20:50Very interesting quirk.

20:52Now, over on the passenger side of the car, you can see there is another flap located in the same position.

20:59This one also is not for fuel.

21:01You open this up and you can see this is where you add oil to the engine.

21:05And also there's a dipstick here where you can measure the current engine oil level.

21:10If you want to add fuel to the car, that's right here.

21:13Above this flap, also on the passenger side.

21:16You open this up and then you can add gas to fill up the engine.

21:20Next up, another interesting quirk of this car is the placement of the rear view mirrors.

21:25You can see the front rear view mirror is mounted on the fender.

21:29Which makes sense. Seems like it's right in position for the driver to see it.

21:32The passenger side rear view mirror, however, is mounted on the door.

21:36They are not symmetrical. They're placed in different spots.

21:39But that passenger mirror is in that spot also to make it easier for the driver to see it.

21:44Because otherwise it would be blocked by the windshield frame.

21:47So putting the mirror there actually makes the most sense for visibility.

21:50But it's a little bit weird for symmetry if you notice it.

21:54Another interesting quirk on the outside of this car, you can see the windshield wiper.

21:58And indeed, it is just one windshield wiper.

22:01No multiple wipers here. They didn't need them.

22:03They stuck to just a single wiper.

22:05And how about this? This bag here, you can see, contains the car cover.

22:10A bespoke bag for the CLK GTR cover.

22:14That's got to be worth something on eBay.

22:16Interestingly, this cover is for a coupe model.

22:19They didn't actually make a distinctive special cover just for the roadster.

22:24Which is weird because the roadster is the one you'd probably want to cover.

22:27Since it doesn't have a roof or a top of any variety.

22:30But there's no specialized roadster cover. It's just what you get for the coupe.

22:34Now, another thing you will probably notice on the outside of this car is the wheels.

22:38These are not the factory wheels.

22:40In fact, the regular CLK GTR wheel design, this design, is very distinctive.

22:45This million spoke wheel was very well known for this car.

22:48However, the owner of this car told me that those wheels do not have any real tire size that fits them anymore.

22:55So if you actually want to drive or use your CLK GTR, you have to change to a different wheel size.

23:02In order to get good new tires to drive the car.

23:05Now thankfully, these wheels are made by HRE.

23:08They actually look pretty good. They fit the car fairly well.

23:11I love that original factory wheel.

23:13But like in so many older supercars, it's just not possible to find tires anymore.

23:18One other interesting thing on the outside of this car is its size, its length.

23:22This is a fairly big car.

23:24191 inches long made it a rather large supercar in its day.

23:30By comparison, the Ferrari F50, which came out just a couple of years earlier, was 176 inches long.

23:37So the F50 was more than a foot shorter than the CLK GTR.

23:41And that was down to all this aerodynamic bodywork, as you can see.

23:45The giant wing, the big scoops and intakes on the outside of this car.

23:49All this aero to make it go as fast as possible on the racetrack.

23:53Since that's where this car was really developed for.

23:56The road version was only sort of an afterthought in order to comply with racing regulations.

24:01And as a result, indeed, it is a little large.

24:05And then we must talk about the clamshells.

24:09This car does not have a typical front trunk or rear hood.

24:13Instead, like a race car, it has removable body panels back here.

24:18Removable clamshells.

24:20You can see they're held on with these fasteners that say AMG.

24:24Each one actually has AMG printed on it.

24:26And in order to get into the rear or the front of the car, you have to remove all the fasteners.

24:31And then get multiple people's help to remove the clamshells in order to get in the front or the back.

24:39Okay, so we start by removing the rear clam, which is a multi-person job.

24:44It's a heavy piece. It has to be taken off in a very specific way.

24:48You unlatch those five AMG latches, pull it back, and then set it on the ground very carefully.

24:53You can see on these giant furniture pads so nothing gets scratched or damaged.

24:58When the clam is off, it just looks crazy.

25:01It's like a big chunk of the car has been completely removed and taken away.

25:06It looks like that because, well, that's exactly what happened.

25:10And when the clam is off the car, it is an absolute sight to behold back here.

25:16You can see everything.

25:18And I mean everything. There's no bodywork in the way.

25:21So you can look at basically every mechanical component of this car behind the seats.

25:26You see the giant tires in back.

25:28Of course, you can see the huge 6.9-liter V12 and basically everything else back here.

25:33And actually, it really looks cool.

25:35It's quite beautiful, which is impressive because this is a part of the car they probably never really expected people to show off.

25:41Since removing that clam is so difficult, it's not something you're going to do at your local Cars & Coffee.

25:46And yet, it still just looks so amazingly special back here.

25:50Absolutely incredible to see the CLK GT-R naked with the clam removed and all access to this giant V12.

25:58Now, one other interesting thing in back, you can see two giant mufflers mounted on the back of the car.

26:04This was done when this car was imported to the U.S. in order to comply with U.S. regulations.

26:10These giant mufflers were added in place of smaller European mufflers that were originally on the car.

26:16The owner plans to revert back to the European standard.

26:18The car will probably feel a little bit faster and a little bit louder.

26:21And you'll shed these massive mufflers that helped reduce the emissions, keep the emissions profile lower in this car.

26:28But mufflers are no mufflers.

26:30This V12 and this entire rear end is a sight to behold.

26:34Absolutely amazing to see this car with everything removed.

26:38Truly, truly incredible.

26:39Not too many people have seen this view of a CLK GT-R.

26:44And then there's the front.

26:46You remove the front clamshell, it's a lot easier.

26:49Much smaller piece, doesn't require three people.

26:51This one merely requires two.

26:53But you get it off the car and you can see quite a lot of carbon fiber under here.

26:58Everything under here is carbon fiber.

27:00And the cool thing about all this is it's functional carbon fiber.

27:04A lot of stuff is there to look cool, not necessarily save weight.

27:07But this, they never really thought people would pull this off and look at it since it's such a complicated job.

27:12This is all here for a purpose, for a reason.

27:15And it looks damn cool just looking at all this.

27:19Couple of interesting things up here.

27:20Number one, you can see brake cooling ducts that specifically route air towards the brakes in order to cool them.

27:26They're made of carbon fiber too, which is a pretty cool look.

27:29And up here you can also see the inboard suspension, which is also a pretty cool look.

27:34Not directly at the wheel, but positioned slightly in the center like some race cars and super high performance sports cars have.

27:40All in all, very cool to see this car with the clamps removed.

27:43And one other important thing to keep in mind with the front clamp removed.

27:47You can see when it's off, there's only one rear view mirror mounted to it.

27:51Because like I mentioned before, the mirror on the other side is mounted on the door.

27:55So that one stays on the car when the front clamp comes off.

27:57And the other mirror comes off with the front clamp, really emphasizing just how asymmetrical and unusual that positioning is.

28:06And by the way, two other interesting items worth pointing out up front.

28:09For one, you can see how unbelievably low this car is.

28:13And under that front splitter, there's actually a piece of wood.

28:17Which is actually fairly common in racing applications.

28:20You'll see wood here probably because it's cheaper and easier to replace than carbon fiber or some other piece.

28:25But it's interesting to actually see that on a car like this, one this valuable.

28:30But there is a wood piece there under the splitter.

28:33Also up here you will notice a tow hook.

28:35It's kind of pushed into that lower front grill right now.

28:38But if you're going to tow this car, you can pull it out.

28:41And then obviously stick a hook to that in order to pull the car around.

28:46That tow hook of course would have been useful for the race car.

28:48If it got into an accident or broke down on the track, you could pull it up onto a tow truck.

28:52And well, it's also useful for the road car.

28:55Now one other interesting thing about the CLK GTR is that it was never officially sold when it was a new car in the United States.

29:03Anywhere in North America.

29:05Mercedes-Benz was building so few of these that they decided they could find buyers in other markets without having to comply with all the US regulations.

29:13So this car was never sold here.

29:15A few of them quickly came in under the show or display exemption for super rare low volume cars to be driven limited miles to shows or displays.

29:25And now these cars are 25 years old and legal to import in large part.

29:30But this car wasn't sold in the States.

29:32If it had been, the price tag would have been astronomical.

29:35Back in 2000, around $1.5 million, which was a massive number for a car back then.

29:41Nothing else cost a million bucks at the time.

29:44The Ferrari Enzo, several years later, was only $650,000.

29:49This was twice that price tag, but it was tremendously special and rare.

29:54And so we gotta wonder, what's it like to drive a CLK GTR?

30:01Amazingly, the startup procedure is the same as any other Mercedes-Benz.

30:05You just stick that CLK key into the ignition and twist it.

30:09The V12 fires right up.

30:11Take a listen to that.

30:27And then you get behind the wheel and drive.

30:30Let's do it.

30:31Okay, here we are with Devin from Faster LLC.

30:35We're gonna drive the car. Are you nervous?

30:37I, you know, I started getting nervous.

30:41But that went away a long time ago when I started driving them.

30:43Well, I'm incredibly nervous.

30:44Less nervous, more excited.

30:46Okay, well that makes one of us.

30:47I'm excited for you to feel it out.

30:48Okay.

30:49Not only is it tremendously valuable, but this transmission is so bizarre.

30:53So, I'm in neutral, which they call zero.

30:56Zero.

30:57I'm gonna go into gear now.

30:59We're in first.

31:00In first.

31:03You just felt it grab.

31:04Yep.

31:07Now it's your turn.

31:10Oh my god, this is terrifying.

31:12It doesn't like going slow.

31:13No, it's a race car.

31:14That is, that is one thing I have to say.

31:16That was a pretty good turning radius on shot, because it's a pretty big car.

31:18It's actually, it's actually really good, yeah.

31:21Okay, we're going.

31:23Steering is heavy and very direct.

31:25Very direct.

31:26Loud, loud, loud, loud, like a race car.

31:29It's not quiet.

31:34And straight cut gears are so, they're so abrupt and they're so loud.

31:38You feel like you're breaking it.

31:39That's my experience with straight cut gears, but that's how it's made.

31:43Listen to that.

31:44This is so insane.

31:46Okay, so I'm gonna go into zero here.

31:48You're in zero.

31:49And so zero and the green light comes on to tell me I'm in zero too.

31:52Is that the deal?

31:53How lovely.

31:54How convenient.

31:55How convenient.

31:56You know, we got the AC on.

31:57It's nice.

31:58We do have the AC on.

31:59It's pretty nice.

32:00It's just a family car.

32:01This girl's just walking down the street.

32:02No, it's, this is just a C-Class.

32:04She doesn't know.

32:05Look, look at us.

32:06Do you realize what you're, oh God, the light's turning green.

32:09It's about to be green.

32:12It's just a normal, everyday C-Class.

32:13Go!

32:16This is terrifying.

32:26Interesting gearbox.

32:28You know, it is interesting, and straight cut gears are always crazy.

32:32But I must say, I've already kind of got the hang of it once it's in motion.

32:36Yeah.

32:37It's not that crazy.

32:38Like, it's insane when you think about it.

32:39A manual that you shift with paddles, but you have a clutch pedal.

32:43But actually, it, functionally, it works okay.

32:46It makes sense.

32:49But now you're in zero again.

32:50Now I'm back in zero, but I'm gonna go back into first because we're about to turn green.

32:54Now we're green.

32:56It's interesting, too, because it's downshift, rev match when you're really on it.

33:00I'm afraid to rev match.

33:02This is kind of fun, I gotta admit.

33:04If this car wasn't so insane and rare.

33:08You know, it's not that crazy to do a rev match, honestly.

33:11It's not.

33:12And it's actually, the pedal box is really well set up.

33:14It looks like, it feels like it's made for it.

33:15It's also very smooth, linear travel on the clutch and the accelerator.

33:20Like, it's pretty easy to do it.

33:22But even just driving it for two minutes, I'm like, okay, I'm getting the hang of it.

33:25Yeah, it's just so different than, you know, your normal age pattern gearbox.

33:29Right, it is.

33:30Even though it's essentially the same thing.

33:33Right.

33:42I can't believe I'm driving this on the road with other cars.

33:47Oh, there's no mirror, I just realized.

33:49Oh, right here?

33:50There's nothing.

33:51My God!

33:52I want a mirror there so badly.

33:55The pedals are all pretty heavy, but not excessively so.

33:57They have good feel to them, which is nice.

33:59The steering is good, it's like nicely weighted.

34:01It's heavy.

34:02It's heavy in a cool way, though.

34:03Like, it feels like you want it to in a sports car.

34:05Especially an older, older sports car.

34:07One thing I will say, if you were any taller than me, you wouldn't be able to fit.

34:10My knee is like right up against the thing.

34:12I can do it.

34:13But if you were any taller than me, it'd be game over.

34:15This is one of those cars you either fit or you don't.

34:17Yeah.

34:18I'm gonna get it, don't worry.

34:19Yeah.

34:20It's just a big V12, so you kind of got to let go and buy it.

34:23Yep.

34:32Oh, what a crazy experience this is.

34:34I know.

34:35I'm gonna step on it once.

34:37Yep.

34:38Oh!

34:42Listen to that!

34:43That is unbelievable, that sound.

34:45Oh!

34:50That is absolutely unbelievable.

35:04That is so cool.

35:06It's wild, and you can hear everything.

35:08Yeah.

35:09You hear it all.

35:10It is so mechanical.

35:11It really does feel like a race car, which it is.

35:14Yeah.

35:15That is unbelievable.

35:17Unbelievable.

35:18What a crazy experience.

35:25Oh!

35:26How crazy!

35:27That's like just hearing everything.

35:29It's so visceral.

35:30It's so loud.

35:31It's so wild.

35:32I cannot believe I'm driving this car.

35:34What a special, special car.

35:36Thank you for letting me drive it.

35:37I can't believe you did.

35:38You're crazy.

35:42How amazing.

35:44Unreal.

35:45What a crazy, crazy car.

35:47There you go, the CLK GTR.

35:49Roadster.

35:50Roadster.

35:51One of six.

35:52Not like one of those common coupe models.

35:54No, no.

35:55It's really interesting, because you see those things everywhere.

35:58Everywhere.

35:59Everywhere.

36:00But this, you know.

36:01I'm actually getting tired of seeing them everywhere.

36:02I know.

36:03And so that's the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR.

36:07This is one of the craziest Mercedes-Benz models on the planet.

36:13Certainly the most jaw-droppingly insane and exciting Mercedes-Benz of the modern era.

36:19It is truly an icon with the rarity and the values to match.

36:24And it's amazing to get to spend time with this special car.

36:29Anyway, now it's time to give the CLK GTR a Doug's score.

36:38And the Doug's score is here.

36:4064 out of 100, which puts the CLK GTR Roadster here against some sort of similar cars.

36:46What a thing this is.

36:48It's truly amazing.

36:49The look is absolutely astonishing.

36:51And the driving experience is more impressive than I expected.

36:54With strong, stable steering feel and a raucous and wonderful engine.

36:58The drawback is undoubtedly practicality.

37:01Accessing the engine is a three-man job.

37:04Ground clearance is essentially non-existent.

37:06And seating position is completely fixed in place.

37:09This might be the least practical road car in existence.

37:12But it's so damn cool, it almost doesn't matter.

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