In 1998, Mercedes-Benz constructed the CLK LM to tackle the FIA GT Championship within the premier GT1 class, in addition to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

It dominated the collection, although it failed to complete at Le Mans because of reliability points.

Simply 4 examples are thought to have been in-built whole, and now one in every of them is up on the market.

In accordance with its itemizing on Piston Heads, the putting race automotive is on the market through London-based dealership JM Efficiency and was used purely as a take a look at automobile throughout its motorsports profession. After that profession ended, the automotive was offered into non-public arms, initially to a buyer in Japan. It has been with its present proprietor within the U.Okay. since 2017. It is not clear when it was transformed for highway automotive use.

Street-legal 1998 Mercedes-Benz CLK LM race automotive – Photograph credit score: Piston Heads

The CLK LM is the successor to the rather more extensively recognized Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR constructed a yr prior. Whereas that automotive required 25 road-going homologation specials to be constructed, the CLK LM wanted only one.

That sole CLK LM homologation is presently in non-public arms and will finally flip up on the market someday. Till that occurs, anybody with a need for a road-legal CLK LM should purchase this automotive from JM Efficiency. No worth is talked about within the itemizing.

For the CLK LM, Mercedes swapped out the CLK GTR’s V-12 engine in favor of a V-8 deemed to be higher in a position to final racing across the clock at Le Mans. The mid-mounted engine is a 5.0-liter unit rated at near 600 hp. It is paired with a 6-speed sequential transmission and spins the rear wheels solely.

With the subsequent season of the GT Championship adopting a prototype class for its premier class, Mercedes ended the CLK LM program, changing it with the CLR prototype. That automotive had a disastrous outing on the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, with aerodynamic points inflicting a number of high-speed flips.