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54-467: 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. As such, the production of road cars necessary in order to meet homologation standards of GT1 was a secondary consideration in

108-707: A world championship with rounds across the world. Cars which fit the GT1 class were eligible to race only in the FIA GT1 World Championship , as the ACO (organizer of the Le Mans 24 Hours ) banned the cars from the event and all of its associated series. This meant that the category that once was eligible to race not only in the FIA GT, Le Mans Series and numerous national championships, was now only able to run in

162-559: A "round robin" system. After the end of the 2004 season, the FIA renamed the classes GT1 and GT2, and somewhat liberalized the GT1 regulations, allowing "supercars". While this was made to accommodate the Saleen S7 , the biggest beneficiary was the purpose-built Maserati MC12 , which led the FIA to impose aerodynamic limitations on the Italian car. However, thanks to a weight penalty system,

216-493: A factory team to several rounds, with its 911 GT1 , which was thought by most in the series paddock as being built against of the spirit of the rules, due to the fact that it was a Porsche 962 with just the front of the chassis being shared with a Type 993 911, and it having a street variant simply for the sake of meeting its homologation requirement. The homologation special method was not new however, with Porsche having already earlier collaborated with Dauer Sportwagen to race

270-728: A new class, N-GT would be the lower class in the championship. The equivalent of this in ACO sanctioned Championships would be the GTS class, and the GT class. In 2005, both classes would become renamed as "GT1" and " GT2 " respectively. The Maserati MC12 would be the dominant car of this era, with it earning five consecutive teams titles from 2006 to 2009 for the Vitaphone Racing Team in the FIA GT Championship. FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship

324-804: 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

378-470: A similar fashion to the Porsche 911 GT1 in 1996, only a singular road car was completed in 1997 and was shown in that year's Frankfurt Motor Show. The rest of the road cars were built at Affalterbach by AMG in collaboration with HWA over 1998, and production ceased in mid-1999. Many components of the road car were lifted directly from the racecar, including the suspension, the sequential transmission, and

432-478: A speedometer that was etched to 400 km/h (249 mph) and a redesigned front splitter. The increased power and torque figures lowered the 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) to 3.5 seconds. Three other chassis later received the E73 engine and SuperSport package, with the later models having higher power figures at 711  hp (721  PS ; 530  kW ). At the time of manufacture, Guinness World Records named

486-501: A sports car built to the Le Mans Grand Touring Prototype (LMGTP) regulations. This sports car was a purpose-built racecar that did not have to abide by the homologation rules of the previous GT1 cars. Following the 1955 Le Mans disaster , Mercedes-Benz had withdrawn its factory-backed race team from all motorsport activities. It was not until 1985 that Mercedes reintroduced itself to motorsport, entering

540-463: A support series in some rounds of the main championship. The FIA defines a GT car as "an open or closed automobile which has no more than one door on each side and a minimum of two seats situated one on each side of the longitudinal centre line of the car; these two seats must be crossed by the same transversal plane. This car must be able to be used perfectly legally on the open road, and adapted for racing on circuits or closed courses." All races in

594-482: The 1985 World Sportscar Championship . Starting off as an engine supplier to Sauber , this partnership bloomed into a full-time factory-backed effort. 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

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648-431: The 1997 FIA GT Nürburgring 4 Hours with Schneider and Klaus Ludwig taking the win. The rest of the season saw the CLK GTR take three more 1-2 finishes, and wins at the 1997 FIA GT Sebring 3 Hours and 1997 FIA GT Laguna Seca 3 Hours would secure Mercedes the constructors' and drivers' championship with Schneider in their maiden season. Mercedes opted not to enter that year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, as AMG understood that

702-459: The CLK GTR . Similar to the 911 GT1, the CLK GTR was yet another homologation special prototype, with the car only being a racing-version of a production Grand Tourer in name. The car had no street legal version even built by the time the category collapsed in 1999, and shared only the instrumentation, front grille and the four headlamps with the normal CLK (C208) . That same season, realising that

756-744: The Dauer 962 Le Mans in 1994 (at the time of homologation, only one road car existed) to effectively score the last Le Mans victory for the Porsche 962 series, and Toyota heavily modifying the Toyota MR2 into the SARD MC8-R for the following year's race, also joined by a more pure road derived Toyota Supra and national rivals Nissan Skyline GT-R (both of which had also competed in JGTC with identical specifications) and Honda NSX that year. Following

810-631: 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

864-524: The F1 GTR would not be competitive against the homologation specials, McLaren also updated the bodywork of the car, with the alterations so significant that they were forced to build a road car with the updated bodywork, effectively turning the car into a homologation special. The resulting car was known as the F1 GT, with three being built. In 1998, realising that with the introduction of the updated CLK LM, and

918-529: The FIA GT Series for 2013. FIA currently defines several categories of GT cars with the top two specifications being GT1, or Grand Touring Cars , and GT2, or Series Grand Touring Cars . Each category has an annual driver champion, team champion, and manufacturer champion. Both categories are based on production road car designs, which must be produced in a minimum quantity of 25 examples to qualify. Both types may undergo significant modifications from

972-464: The Hockenheimring , at the 1997 FIA GT Hockenheim 4 Hours . Bernd Schneider qualified on pole and took the fastest lap, but had to retire due to braking problems. The sister No. 10 CLK GTR only mustered a 27th-place finish, also battling mechanical woes. Still, the pace of the car was promising, and after intense development over the summer break, Mercedes would score their first 1-2 finish at

1026-688: The 2011 season was the last time GT1 cars contested in international motorsport. The 2012 FIA GT1 season was contested with GT3 cars (yet retaining GT1 in series' title), but the series was finally cancelled after the year had concluded, being replaced by the FIA GT Series. In 2010 the GT2 class was planned to have a separate championship having rounds held only in Europe , known as the FIA GT2 European Championship, but this series

1080-595: The 911 GT1-98, the F1 GTR could no longer be competitive, McLaren withdrew backing from the program, following BMW which had done so the previous year, in 1997, although two cars would still be entered by Parabolica Motorsports and Davidoff Classic. In 1999, following the total domination of the Mercedes-AMG team in the Championship in the previous season, which saw them win all races in the championship, with both

1134-616: The AMG factory in SuperSport specification. The original 6,898 cc (420.9 cu in) E69 engine was superseded with the larger, more powerful 7,291 cc (444.9 cu in) E73 M297. This same engine was also found in the Pagani Zonda and Mercedes-Benz R129 , albeit now producing 664  PS (488  kW ; 655  hp ) at 6,500 rpm and 786  N⋅m (580  lb⋅ft ) at 5,250 rpm. Visual changes included

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1188-473: The CLK GTR and LM, no GT1 teams entered the category, apart from the Mercedes-AMG Team. As such, the FIA chose to run the 1999 FIA GT Championship with just the GT2 class. Following the omission of the original GT1 category in the 1999 season, the FIA GT Championship was restructured, such that original GT2 class would be elevated to the top class of the championship, and become known as GT while

1242-606: The CLK GTR was a carbon-fibre monocoque mated to an aluminium honeycomb frame, constructed by Lola Composites, a division of Lola Cars . The engine was a derivative of the M120 engine found in the R129 SL-Class and W140 S-Class , retitled the LS600, or GT 112. The bore and stroke were kept the same at 89 mm (3.5 in) and 80.2 mm (3.2 in), however, the connecting rods were manufactured from titanium , and

1296-659: The CLK Straßenversion and its siblings the world's most expensive production car, retailing for US$ 1,547,620 ($ 2,572,940 in 2021). This record stood until the introduction of the Ferrari FXX-K in 2015. Along with its GT1 siblings, the Porsche 911 GT1 and McLaren F1 GTR , the trio were known as the "holy trinity" of Group GT1 , and formed what several publications deemed a "golden era" or "pinnacle" of 90s sportscar racing . Bold – Pole position Italics – Fastest lap Group GT1 The class which

1350-473: The FIA GT Championship were of endurance type , a full race distance lasting a minimum of 500 km or a maximum of three hours, with the exception of the Spa 24 Hours , Istanbul 2 hours and the exhibition Mil Milhas Brasileiras , which is run over a thousand miles (1609 km) and was planned to be a round of the championship in 2007. However, with the release of the 2007 FIA GT Championship schedule and rules,

1404-401: The FIA GT series becomes more of a sprint race event, with all races being a maximum of 2 hours with the exception of the Spa 24 Hours . In 1997, due to increasing interest from manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz , Porsche and Panoz , the FIA took over control of the expanding BPR Global GT Series , standardizing the race-length at 500 km instead of the usual four hours, liberalizing

1458-473: The GTR a 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) of 3.8 seconds, and a claimed top speed of over 320 km/h (199 mph), depending on gearing. The 18-inch centrelocking wheels were fitted with 295/35ZR18 Bridgestone tyres at the front and 345/35ZR18 at the rear. Stopping power was provided by 6-piston calipers and carbon-composite rotors measuring 380 mm (15.0 in) at the front and 335 mm (13.2 in) at

1512-658: The V12 in the CLK GTR was better tailored to the 4-hour sprints of the FIA GT Championship rather than the 24-hour gruel of the Circuit de la Sarthe . Instead, Mercedes and AMG decided to develop a bespoke car for next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans , an evolution of the CLK GTR dubbed the CLK LM , LM for Le Mans. The road-legal homologated version of the CLK-GTR would simply gain the suffix Straßenversion , German for Street version. In

1566-408: The car as a "real work of art". The engine was stroked out to 6,898 cc (420.9 cu in) by Ilmor , resulting in a power and torque bump to 622  hp (464  kW ; 631  PS ) at 6,500 rpm and 731  N⋅m (539  lb⋅ft ) at 5,250 rpm. Sending this power to the rear wheels was a 6-speed sequential manual transmission with a four-plate carbon fibre clutch . This gave

1620-495: The car's tractability , despite its immense power. He also applauded the effort put in by Mercedes-Benz to make the car more user-friendly, including large amounts of soundproofing to reduce the mechanical noise from the transmission and engine, although critiqued the cramped cockpit space despite the large width of the car, and its driveability in city conditions, due to its non-synchronous transmission and large amount of torque available from low rpm. He ended his review describing

1674-476: The car's design, i.e. the CLK GTR was a homologation special . After its successful campaign in the 1997 FIA GT Championship , the 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 , concluded Mercedes' GT1 program. For 1999, Mercedes introduced the Mercedes-Benz CLR ,

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1728-466: The carbon-fibre monocoque. Of the 28 produced, 2 were prototypes, 6 were roadsters, and 20 were coupés, 2 of which left the factory in "SuperSport" specification. Two cars, one coupé and one roadster, also left the factory as right-hand drive for the 29th Sultan of Brunei , Hassanal Bolkiah . Former racing driver and motoring journalist Paul Frère test drove the CLK GTR around the Hockenheimring . Writing for Road & Track magazine, he praised

1782-575: The championship had grown, with the grids of the championship growing due to an influx of cars from several makes in the top GT1 class, such as the McLaren F1 GTR, and the new Porsche 911 GT2 Evolution based on the new 993 chassis, which replaced the 964 platform 911 Carrera RSRs that had once dominated the series grids. In addition, professional teams had also begun to enter the championship that had once been intended for privateers, which caused costs to increase dramatically. Porsche even sent in

1836-419: The compression ratio was increased from 10.0:1 to 12.0:1. These modifications boosted power to 600  PS (592  hp ; 441  kW ) at 7,000 rpm, and torque to 700  N⋅m (516  lb⋅ft ) at 3,900 rpm, allowing the car to reach a top speed of 330 km/h (205 mph). The engine (which also served as a stressed member ) was mounted amidships behind the driver, with power being sent to

1890-489: The cost escalation, moved down to the GT2 class. Mercedes completely dominated the new category and the other manufacturers pulled out after the end of the 1998 season. This left Chrysler's Viper to become the dominating car in the series, with the aging Porsche 993 GT2 and the Lister Storm providing a certain degree of competition. However, there was no lower inexpensive category for amateur drivers, and this led to

1944-652: The creation of the N-GT class in 2000. While the manufacturer field in the main class blossomed, the new category became swamped with Porsches and Ferraris, but lower running costs meant both classes enjoyed a balanced number of entries. In order to boost the championship's status, the SRO added the 24 Hours of Spa , previously a touring car race , to the calendar, where it became the series' most important race. The FIA also banned official manufacturer involvement, although certain teams had preferential treatment, with Porsche establishing

1998-404: 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

2052-455: The fight for the championship is protected from more domineering cars. The level of competition remains tight, with gentlemen drivers managing to fight for the wins with professional drivers, some of them with Formula One experience. Following the 2009 season, the SRO announced that the FIA GT Championship's two categories, GT1 and GT2, would break off into separate series. The GT1 category became

2106-643: The loss of Patrick Peter from the BPR Organisation, the BPR Organisation evolved into the Stephane Ratel Organisation , with the SRO now co-organising the championship with the FIA. With this change, it saw an even larger influx of professional teams and manufacturers, with the whole grid of the GT1 class consisting of nothing but professional teams. The 1997 season saw the entry of the Mercedes-AMG Team, who would debut

2160-517: The name of series organizer BPR), as a championship for privateers, with four hour long endurance races. Barth, an ex Le Mans winner, was manager of the customer competitions department at Porsche, Peter was a well-respected race promoter, while Ratel was an executive/investor in the Venturi GT1 project. The Series had four categories, namely GT1-4, with each decreasing number signifying increased freedom in its technical regulations. By 1996 however,

2214-577: The new World Championship. A few GT1 were entered in the LMGT1 class at the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans . The GT1 cars continued to race in the World Championship in 2010 and 2011, but in 2012 the series switched exclusively to GT3 machinery due to shrinking car counts and the fact that most of the cars were ageing and no one was willing to build new models. This meant that the San Luis round of

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2268-571: 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 . The chassis of

2322-501: The rear wheels via a 6-speed sequential manual transmission , giving the car a 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) time of 3.8 seconds. Several driving aids such as traction control , ABS , active suspension , drive by wire throttle control, were banned, with fore-aft brake bias the only aid allowed. The front and rear suspension were identical, consisting of double wishbones , with pull-rod actuated coil springs with adjustable shocks . The CLK GTR debuted at Mercedes' home track,

2376-435: The rear. The road car received several amenities such as ABS , air-conditioning and an audio system. Bins for luggage were located under each door, as was the control for the fire suppression system on the driver side. Owners had the option of fitting their seats with tartan , leather, or Alcantara , with four-point harnesses for safety. Like the race car, the CLK GTR only shared the headlights, taillights and grille with

2430-766: The road car they are based on, but GT1 allows the use of exotic materials, better aerodynamics , larger brakes , wider tyres and larger engine admission restrictors. For the 2006 season, the FIA created a new class called GT3. GT3 cars are even closer to their production counterparts and are very simply racetrack prepared with the essentials (rollcages for safety, stripped interiors, race spec fuel tanks, etc.). All cars are performance balanced together via different weights, restrictors, tyre pressures etc. Prestigious motorsports makes such as Aston Martin , Chevrolet , Dodge , Lamborghini , Ascari and Maserati take part in FIA GT3 European Championship ,

2484-445: The roadgoing CLK, and many exterior design elements such as the roof-mounted air dams , and NACA ducts on the sills were retained. Mercedes decided not to modify the CLK GTR to comply with United States safety regulations, and all examples imported to the U.S. were under Show or Display exemptions. When the first production run of 20 CLK GTR coupés ended in 1999, one roadster was also produced and held onto by AMG until 2002, when it

2538-589: The roof to the sides, door-mounted mirrors, an integrated rollbar behind the seats, a revised front grille and rear wing which resembled the fixed rear wing of the race cars. Of the six roadsters built, one was painted black and sold in 2015 by Bonhams , and now resides at Dutton Garage in Melbourne . Another was painted dark silver with a purple interior, for the Sultan of Brunei , and was sold to Indian businessman Vijay Mallya in 2009. Two chassis would also leave

2592-435: The technical regulations and leaving commercial exploitation in the hands of one of BPR's founders, Stéphane Ratel, who managed to get TV support from the pan-European TV station Eurosport . The new manufacturers built "homologation specials", racing-bred cars that took full advantage of the new rules, to build quasi-prototypes with very limited production runs of 25 cars. Chrysler , Lister and Marcos, not wanting to accompany

2646-568: Was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe , but throughout the years has visited other continents including Asia and South America . At the end of 2009, the championship was replaced by the FIA GT1 World Championship , which morphed into

2700-598: Was also planned to be in the series, but this was quickly folded as the interest level wasn't high). However, this series is not an FIA-sanctioned championship. In 2012 the series abandoned the GT4 class and moved to GT3 exclusively. As of the end of the 2009 season , Vitaphone Racing Team have won their fifth consecutive Teams' Championship in the GT1 category, while AF Corse earned their fourth consecutive title. Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini , both driving for Vitaphone, earned their third Drivers' Championship titles in

2754-636: Was cancelled. A lone GT2 event was held in 2010 at the Spa 24 Hours with the winners being awarded the FIA GT2 European Cup. This was the last time GT2-spec cars contested in SRO-sanctioned series. A new Blancpain Endurance Series was announced for 2011 which re-established some of the endurance format of the former FIA GT Championship, although this series only utilised the FIA's GT3, GT4, and Supersports categories (GT2

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2808-413: Was purchased by Mark Johnston. Johnston attempted to sue DaimlerChrysler in 2006, claiming that when he had taken it for a test drive with a customer, the oil gauge lit up and the transmission promptly failed. The next five would be converted from coupés to roadsters based on existing GTR chassis by HWA , and were made available in 2006. Modifications to the coupé included moving the engine intake from

2862-447: Was the dominant car in this series, and in order to defeat it fellow German marque Porsche built a dedicated racecar, the 911 GT1 . It became the first of the manufacturer’s “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

2916-633: Was to become known as "GT1" was debuted by the ACO (Automobile Club de l'Ouest) at the 1993 24 Hours of Le Mans , under the name Group GT . The class was first defined in the FIA Appendix J regulations, as Group GT , in 1993. In 1994, following the collapse of the FIA World Sportscar Championship in 1992, BPR Global GT series was founded by Jürgen Barth, Patrick Peter, and Stephane Ratel (with their last names forming

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