Fully functional, the car is currently owned by an anonymous Dutch collector who seemingly bought it as a long-term investment. It was stored indoors and it has never been driven on a public road, though we imagine it was started up on at least a semi-regular basis in order to keep all of the mechanical components in working order. The lone picture published by auction house Bonhams shows the GTR is truly in like-new condition.
The GTR is a CLK in name only. Remembered as Mercedes’ first-ever mid-engined race car, the carbon fiber-bodied coupe was designed to compete against big names like Porsche and Ferrari in the GT Championship series that was launched in 1997. It only spawned a street-legal model because FIA regulations dictated that manufacturers had to sell at least 25 examples of each car in order to compete in the category.
The CLK-GTR Roadster is powered by a mid-mounted naturally-aspirated 6.9-liter V12 engine that makes 603 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 539 foot-pounds of torque at 5,250 rpm. Bolted to a six-speed sequential gearbox controlled by huge shift paddles, the 12-cylinder sends the 3,100-pound CLK-GTR from 0 to 62 mph in 3.7 seconds and on to a top speed of about 200 mph.
The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR is scheduled to cross the auction block on June 26th during the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Bonhams estimates the roadster will sell for anywhere between €1.9 million and €2.5 million, sums that convert to about $2.1 and $2.7 million, respectively. If those figures are accurate, the CLK-GTR was a decent investment for the current owner because it cost no less than 3,074,000 German marks (roughly $1.7 million) when it went on sale 16-years ago.
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