The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR (chassis code C297) is a GT1 sports car built and produced by Mercedes-Benz in conjunction with their then motorsport partner AMG. Intended for racing in the new FIA GT Championship series in 1997, the CLK GTR was designed primarily as a race car, with the road cars necessary in order to meet homologation standards being secondary in the car's design, i.e. it was a homologation special.
Following its successful campaign in the 1997 FIA GT Championship, the race car was also entered in the first two rounds of the 1998 FIA GT Championship, before being replaced for the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans. Its successor, the 1998 Mercedes-Benz CLK LM, would conclude Mercedes' GT1 program, being replaced by the Mercedes-Benz CLR Le Mans Grand Touring Prototype (LMGTP), a purpose-built racecar that did not have to abide by the homologation rules of the previous GT1 cars.
Background
Following the 1955 Le Mans disaster, Mercedes-Benz as a works outfit had withdrawn from all motorsport activities, including the upper echelons of sportscar racing. Mercedes gradually reintroduced itself to motorsport, returning to the top level of sportscar racing in 1985, first as an engine supplier to Sauber, later as a full-time works partner. Despite Mercedes winning the World Sportscar Championship twice in 1989 and 1990, they eventually withdrew at the end of 1991 following disappointing results.
However, Mercedes saw success elsewhere, with a burgeoning touring car program in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, where the 190 E and its Evolution I and II siblings were climbing up the ranks. The 1991 season would see the 190 E Evo II take the honours in the constructors' championship. Klaus Ludwig piloted the car to the 1992 drivers' championship, with the 190 E being replaced by the W202 C-Class following the conclusion of the 1993 season. The C-Class went on to dominate both drivers and constructors championships from 1994 to 1996; as a result of the domination the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft/International Touring Car Championship folded in late 1996, with both remaining competitors Opel and Alfa Romeo withdrawing due to the rising costs.
Without a top series to compete in, Mercedes-Benz looked towards the BPR Global GT Series, which had recently become an FIA-sanctioned championship, the FIA GT Championship, where Mercedes-Benz saw an opportunity to go against manufacturers such as Porsche and McLaren. The McLaren F1 GTR was the dominant car in this series, and in order to defeat it fellow German marque Porsche built a dedicated racecar to fight the McLarens. Porsche's challenger, the 911 GT1, became the first of the homologation specials, with Norbert Singer modifying a Porsche 962 chassis to accommodate the front fascia of a Porsche 993, leaving other things such as the suspension and engine largely intact. Only two units of the 993-based 911 GT1 were actually completed by the end of 1996. Seeing this, AMG was tasked by Mercedes-Benz with creating a car akin to the 911 GT1, an almost purebred racing machine with a resemblance to a road car. The CLK GTR was the result, sharing nothing mechanically except the headlights, rear taillights and grille with the road-going Mercedes-Benz CLK.
The CLK GTR was developed in a mere 128 days, this development time hastened by the purchase of McLaren F1 GTR chassis #11R from then-reigning FIA GT Championship champions Larbre Compétition. The car served as AMG's mule, the F1's bodywork was replaced by AMG's own, and the BMW S70 engine replaced by Mercedes' own powerplant, a M120 V12. The car was eventually restored to its original mechanical condition, and was auctioned off in Monaco in 2000 by RM Sotheby's.