Fancy a rare racing car? RM Sotheby's has announced the upcoming auction of a highly significant 1997 Mercedes-AMG CLK GTR GT1, which will be sold from 29 February to 6 March as part of a Sotheby's Sealed Auction. No details of the price are given, but our guess is easily seven figures.
The Mercedes-AMG CLK GTR GT1, chassis 004, which won the FIA GT1 Championship in 1997, will go under the hammer. This chassis was driven by legendary Mercedes-AMG driver Bernd Schneider and can look back on an incredible CV that includes four victories in the 11 rounds of the 1997 FIA GT1 season. It is also the chassis with which Schneider won the drivers' championship and the constructors' championship for Mercedes-AMG in 1997.
Gallery: Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR GT1 (1997)
When those responsible at Mercedes-Benz wanted to continue their racing activities after the successes in the German DTM series in the 1990s, the FIA GT Championship presented itself as a new opportunity for the brand. Three key figures were responsible for driving Mercedes-Benz's latest motorsport project forward with a lightning-fast development programme: Mercedes Head of Motorsport Norbert Haug, AMG boss Hans Werner Aufrecht and Domingos Piedade, head of the joint Mercedes-AMG racing team.
Just 128 days after the first sketches were made on paper, the first complete racing chassis of the CLK GTR took to the track in Jarama on 27 March 1997. Bernd Schneider and AMG youngster Alexander Wurz tested the car with great success.
By using a central tub made of carbon fibre composite material and honeycomb aluminium, which was fitted with carbon fibre body parts and a drive train with struts, it was possible to connect all the important components directly to the tub. The LS600/M297 six-litre V12 powerplant resulted in incredible performance figures.
With the limiters prescribed by the FIA, the power output was 600 PS and the top speed 205 mph. However, the Mercedes-AMG engineers stated a peak output of over 800 PS. Together with the sequential Xtrac six-speed gearbox and the six-piston brakes with huge carbon composite brakes, the Mega-CLK was state of the art in terms of design and performance.
The example offered here is one of the first two examples of the racing CLK GTR completed by Mercedes-AMG, which was used in the 1997 FIA GT1 season. Wurz and Schneider were assigned to this car with the number 11 and yellow mirrors. After a somewhat inconsistent start to the 1997 season, it was the fourth race in which Mercedes-AMG's dominance began.
Chassis 004 qualified on pole position with a lightning fast time and drove from there to its first victory at the Nürburgring. As the season progressed, Chassis 004 was repeatedly successful, including at Donnington on 14 September, where Mercedes-AMG and Schnitzer BMW-McLaren went head-to-head for the constructors' title. With a 1:4 victory, the Silver Arrows overtook McLaren in the constructors' championship and Bernd Schneider now led the drivers' championship for the first time.
Schneider enjoyed another dominant weekend at the season finale in Laguna Seca, where he took chassis 004 into the lead, which he confidently defended to the chequered flag to win both the drivers' and constructors' GT1 championships.
After being replaced by the revised CLK LM race car, Chassis 004 was kept in the Mercedes-Benz corporate collection for the next 17 years. It was exhibited at occasional events, including the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the company's own museum. In 2015, the consignor was given the opportunity to purchase Chassis 004 directly from the Mercedes-Benz collection.
This example was fully sorted by HWA AG shortly before the consignor purchased it, and the work orders (on file) demonstrate a considerable amount of mechanical care taken to prepare it for its new home. In the consignor's hands, chassis 004 has been used sparingly on test days and is now ready for its next custodian.
Augustin Sabatié-Garat, Director of Sales - EMEA at RM Sotheby's, says: " RM Sotheby's has proven that it has an unrivalled track record when it comes to auctioning the most important Mercedes-Benz cars, and this 1997 Mercedes-AMG CLK GTR GT1 is no exception. Last year, our sale of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 W04 topped the highest estimate at $18,815,000.
Prior to that, one of the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupés sold for a world record price of €135,000,000, making it the most expensive car ever sold at auction. This underlines our reputation for selling the most beautiful Mercedes-Benz cars. Furthermore, it is arguably the most significant GT1 race car outside of factory ownership, and as such would be a shoo-in for this year's Featured Class of 1990s BPR & FIA GT Race Cars at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance."
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This CLK GTR GT1 is the key car that helped Mercedes-Benz to absolute dominance in the 1997 FIA GT Championship and undoubtedly represents an exceptionally rare opportunity to acquire a significant piece of Mercedes-Benz history.
The 1997 Mercedes-AMG CLK GTR GT1 will be available to bid for on the Sotheby's Sealed platform from 5pm GMT on 29 February until 5pm GMT on 6 March.
Source: RM Sotheby's