Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM (1998) | Nurburgring | #mercedesbenz #mercedes #mercedesamg #mercedes_benz
"Replacing the heavy V12 with a V8, this was the race car that dominated the FIA GT competition." To compete in the FIA-GT championship that began in 1997, DaimlerChrysler and AMG began a joint project to develop a racing machine in just 128 days. This car was the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR. The front grille of the car comes from the CLK, but the rest of the car is a pure racing machine. The body skeleton is a carbon-fibre-composite monocoque with a steel roll cage, and a body with a giant air intake on the roof covers this chassis. Mounted amidship behind the seat is a 5,000 cc V12 that produces 591.7 BHP. Even though the CLK GTR was never tested adequately, it had an astonishing debut year winning 6 of 11 races and making Bernd Schneider the series champion. In the following 1998 season, Porsche developed and introduced the 911 GT1 and thus began a struggle between the two cars. Because of this, in addition to the two works cars that Mercedes entered in the FIA GT, they also provided two CLK GTR’s to private teams in order to strengthen their efforts on the track. For the 24 Hours of Le Mans, they entered the CLK LM, the successor to the CLK GTR. The major difference between the LM and the GTR was the engine; the V12 engine was replaced with a lightweight V8. In addition, the radiator was moved to the side, the body was redesigned, and the suspension was changed to a pushrod system, achieving a more Formula-style control characteristic. The CLK LM did not finish the Le Mans, but subsequently became the FIA GT championship works machine. As a result, the GTR and LM won 10 out of 10 races, a perfect victory. The team of Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta produced 5 wins.
"Replacing the heavy V12 with a V8, this was the race car that dominated the FIA GT competition." To compete in the FIA-GT championship that began in 1997, DaimlerChrysler and AMG began a joint project to develop a racing machine in just 128 days. This car was the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR. The front grille of the car comes from the CLK, but the rest of the car is a pure racing machine. The body skeleton is a carbon-fibre-composite monocoque with a steel roll cage, and a body with a giant air intake on the roof covers this chassis. Mounted amidship behind the seat is a 5,000 cc V12 that produces 591.7 BHP. Even though the CLK GTR was never tested adequately, it had an astonishing debut year winning 6 of 11 races and making Bernd Schneider the series champion. In the following 1998 season, Porsche developed and introduced the 911 GT1 and thus began a struggle between the two cars. Because of this, in addition to the two works cars that Mercedes entered in the FIA GT, they also provided two CLK GTR’s to private teams in order to strengthen their efforts on the track. For the 24 Hours of Le Mans, they entered the CLK LM, the successor to the CLK GTR. The major difference between the LM and the GTR was the engine; the V12 engine was replaced with a lightweight V8. In addition, the radiator was moved to the side, the body was redesigned, and the suspension was changed to a pushrod system, achieving a more Formula-style control characteristic. The CLK LM did not finish the Le Mans, but subsequently became the FIA GT championship works machine. As a result, the GTR and LM won 10 out of 10 races, a perfect victory. The team of Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta produced 5 wins.