Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR

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Mercedes Benz
1997 version
1997 version
CLK GTR
Production period: 1997-1999
Class : race car
Body versions : Coupé , roadster
Engines:
Gasoline engines : 6.0–7.3 liters
(441–488 kW)
Length: 4855 mm
Width: 1950 mm
Height: 1100-1164 mm
Wheelbase : 2670 mm
Empty weight : approx. 1000-1440 kg
successor Mercedes-Benz CLR -LM

The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR is a GT1 racing car in the FIA GT Championship and an exclusive super sports car derived from it that AMG built for Mercedes-Benz in small numbers.

initial situation

Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR 11.jpg

At the end of 1996, Opel and Alfa Romeo withdrew from the DTM and ITC for cost reasons , so that AMG-Mercedes no longer had any opponents and the touring car series was discontinued. As a future field of activity for the racing team, the previous BPR Global GT series was offered , which was to be continued in 1997 as the FIA GT championship and which was to become even more interesting through the involvement of manufacturers. In the racing series named after the founders ( Jürgen Barth , Patrick Peter, Stéphane Ratel ), top-class existing super sports cars such as the Ferrari F40 and McLaren F1 were used, mostly by solvent private drivers supported by racing professionals. Porsche, long only represented in the second division with the Porsche 993 GT2 , had already developed and used the Porsche 911 GT1 for the season , thus giving the starting signal for the arms race.

To participate in the GT1 class, a minimum of 25 built or street legal specimens was required, similar to the condition for racing the Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512S around three decades earlier . In order to enable Mercedes to participate as early as 1997, the FIA ​​granted an exemption that allowed “subsequent submission”.

history

In the winter of 1996/97, the AMG engineers were therefore able to design a racing car within 128 days without having to pay too much attention to existing models or roadworthiness. Apart from its name and external features such as lights, the CLK GTR has little in common with the model Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class ( W208 ), in particular the mid-engine design with V12 engine does not correspond to the series.

The new racing car was used for the first time in the first half of the season and ultimately won the FIA ​​GT championship. In 1998 he dominated almost all races. At Le Mans , the further developed version of the CLK LM with a V8 engine started from pole position, but dropped out early with engine failure. At the end of the 1998 season, the remaining opponents, i. H. first and foremost the Porsche plant, which only successfully won at Le Mans, has returned from the GT1 category. The private teams with Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus etc. had already given up. Thus, from 1999 onwards, the FIA ​​GT Championship was only held in the near-series categories GT2 and GT3.

The 25 specimens of the series car required by the regulations were only built and delivered between November 1998 and summer 1999, i.e. not before the first participation in the racing series, but only after the GT-1 category was "out". In 2002 a few more open copies were made. In 2003, the model hit the headlines because an American complained about unreliability.

Motorsport use

the 1997 CLK-GTR winning car in the Mercedes-Benz Museum

1997 CLK GTR

The CLK GTR was used in the GT1 class of the FIA GT World Championship from the 1997 season . Due to the regulations, the racing version anticipated the later production vehicles. Externally recognizable differences were ground clearance, wheels, exterior mirrors and rear wing. The super sports cars of the opponents, based on the already existing, sometimes 10-year-old concepts, which were mostly used by private teams and typically driven alternately by a wealthy private man and a former professional racing driver, had little chance against the professional and numerous works team, which was also driven by the Exemption permit was able to use a racing car that was consistently designed for the regulations. Bernd Schneider won the championship by a clear margin; Overall, the AMG-Mercedes took five of the top ten places. Other drivers included Ricardo Zonta , Klaus Ludwig , Bernd Mayländer . Also Ralf Schumacher , then Formula 1 -Neuling when Jordan controlled, (his brother as Michael Schumacher a few years earlier) one of the Silver Arrows , on the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps , to study the local path for the future F1 race .

1998 CLK GTR and CLK LM

In the 1998 season, the Mercedes vehicles dominated the action even more clearly. In the end, the works team Klaus Ludwig / Ricardo Zonta won the GT World Championship ahead of their stable colleagues and defending champion Bernd Schneider. The private team Persson Motorsport used blue-painted models from the previous year, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Spare Parts Supply, with Bernd Mayländer at the wheel , among others . The Bridgestone tires, which also helped McLaren-Mercedes win the title for the first time in Formula 1 in the same year and from then on proved to be superior in F1, proved to be an additional advantage. The teams that used the evolution variant of the Porsche 911 GT1, the factory with Michelin and the Zakspeed team sponsored by the Jever Brewery on Pirelli could not achieve a victory. The other teams, apart from the respectable successes of the unusual front-engined Panoz from the USA, had no chance.

The CLK LM , an even flatter version with a lighter, shorter and more fuel-efficient V8 engine, which was used by the factory from the 24-hour race at Le Mans , failed there early with problems in the oil circuit. The BMW V12 Le Mans Roadster suffered a similar fate, where the wheel bearings were hit. Porsche scored a respectable success with the 911 GT1 against the faster but unfortunate Toyota GT-One and then withdrew from Le Mans. As the season progressed, the revised version of the CLK LM dominated the Porsche, which were disadvantaged by the unfavorable arrangement of the air flow limiter for the turbo engine due to the regulations.

1999 CLR

With the discontinuation of the GT1 class in the FIA ​​GT World Championship in 1999, a GT prototype (LM-GTP) was developed specifically for Le Mans and the regulations there , although it was no longer necessary to be close to series production. The front of the Mercedes-Benz CLR was optically based on the newly offered CL-Class ( Mercedes-Benz C 215 ), but built extremely flat and designed more for top speed than for downforce. This one-sided design of the aerodynamics caused two rollovers in training and in warm-up. Nevertheless, the remaining cars took part in the race, which led to a spectacular accident. When Peter Dumbreck tried to overtake a competitor out of the slipstream on a knoll in front of the Indianapolis curve, the downforce was torn off because too much headwind came under the bow. The car was raised, overturned backwards and flew into a birch shelter far off the track. The driver only suffered bruises. After this accident, Daimler-Chrysler board member Jürgen Hubbert (responsible for the Mercedes Car Group division) declared that Mercedes would never drive at Le Mans again. The plant ended its involvement in the GT World Championship during the season.

Street variant

the CLK GTR Roadster No. 3/5
Production version of the CLK GTR

body

The chassis and body are made of carbon fiber composite with an integrated roll bar made of steel. The engine and transmission take on supporting functions. Doors open obliquely upwards / forwards and not as the legendary Gullwing 300 SL only upward, a quick drive with the doors open so is not possible. Because of this and the extensive safety equipment (including front airbags), the CLK GTR is very safe despite its low weight (racing car: around 1.0 t, road car: 1.4 t).

drive

The engine (M 297) sits directly in front of the rear axle; it is a further development of the 6.0-liter V12 at the time with a cylinder angle of 60 °, as used in the S 600 . In the road car it has a displacement of 6898 cm³ and develops up to 464 kW (631 hp) at 6500 rpm, the maximum torque is 731 Nm (at 5250 rpm). The maximum speed is 7200 rpm. The racing car from 1997 still had a displacement of 5987 cm³ and, regulated by an air flow limiter, developed 441 kW (600 hp) at 7000 rpm.

This power (unusual in Mercedes, but common in racing) is sent to the rear wheels via a sequential six-speed gearbox. This means that the CLK GTR can reach a top speed of 320 km / h. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km / h in 3.7 s. It is switched with rocker switches behind the steering wheel.

The vehicles with the production numbers # 03 and # 17 are equipped with the somewhat more modern 7.3-liter V12 AMG engine that develops 488 kW (664 hp). Other sources also speak of up to 530 kW (720 PS). These cars were converted by the HWA racing department. The silver car with chassis number 3 belongs to Mohammed Bin Sulayem . It is the first delivered CLK-GTR and later got the larger engine in Dubai. Chassis number 17 is the only vehicle that is officially designated as "Super Sport". HWA delivered the red car, which at that time also belonged to a buyer from Dubai, with the more powerful engine. After a detour via Switzerland, this vehicle is now in the USA. According to unconfirmed reports, another three CLK-GTRs were retrofitted with the 7.3-liter twelve-cylinder (prototype # 2, chassis # 01 and # 13).

Prices

The purchase price was 2,650,000 DM (including German VAT 3,074,000 DM; 1,571,711 €). With this price, the CLK GTR was the most expensive production car in the world at the time.

Versions and quantities

For the further development of the CLK LM for the 1998 racing season, the flatter evolution variant with a V8 engine, only a street version was built for homologation purposes. This was seen in the run-up to the 1998 Le Mans 24-hour race and was later sold to a customer from Japan.

All coupés were built by HWA in Affalterbach between the end of 1998 and summer 1999 . In 2002, the CLK GTR launched a second small series with five copies as the CLK GTR Roadster , without a fabric top.

The 25 CLK-GTRs produced (20 coupes and 5 roadsters, with the exception of the one-off CLK LM) also include two right-hand drive vehicles. These two silver wagons were specially made for Hassanal Bolkiah , Sultan of Brunei .

Technical specifications

Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR GT1 version (1997) Street version (1998/99) Super sport version
Engine: Mercedes-Benz M 297 : twelve-cylinder V-engine (60 °), four valves per cylinder,
longitudinally in front of the rear axle (aluminum block ), load-bearing
Displacement : 5987 cc 6898 cc 7291 cc
Power: 441 kW (600 hp) at 7000 rpm 450 kW (612 PS) at 6500 rpm 488 kW (664 hp) at 6500 rpm
Maximum torque : 700 Nm at 3900 rpm 731 Nm at 5250 rpm 786 Nm at 5250 rpm
Motor control: two overhead camshafts per cylinder bank
Lubrication: Dry sump
Cooling: water
Transmission: Sequential 6-speed gearbox (center shift), installed
transversely behind the engine
Frame: Monocoque made of plastic reinforced with carbon fibers (by Lola ),
weight approx. 80 kg
Suspension: Double wishbones front and rear,
internal coil springs operated via tension struts, adjustable stabilizers
Shock absorber : Gas-filled shock absorber
Brakes: internally ventilated discs
made of carbon fiber composite materials
with six-piston fixed calipers
Disc brakes made of gray cast iron
Wheelbase: 2670 mm
Wheel size: 265/65/18 front - 350/40/18 rear 295/35 ZR 18 front - 345/35 ZR 18 rear
Length × width × height: 4855 × 1950 × 1100 mm 4855 × 1950 × 1164 mm
Tank capacity: 100 liters 90 liters
Empty weight (without driver): approx. 1000 kg 1440 kg
Top speed: 330 km / h (measured in Hockenheim) > 320 km / h

Individual evidence

  1. Entry in Auto-Gericke's sports car database ( Memento of the original from March 22, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 15 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hwaag.com
  2. Data sheet from HWA ( Memento of the original from January 24, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 15 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hwaag.com
  3. see picture and data sheet
  4. Article at Supercars.net

literature

  • Malte Jürgens among others: In: auto motor und sport . 1/1999.

Web links

Commons : Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files