Friday 25th September 2009

Pic Of The Week: Mercedes CLK GTR

This one might just get under your skin...

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To parody the legendary Swiss Tony of Fast Show fame, driving a fast car is very much like making love to a beautiful woman: you pick a pretty one that makes nice noises, fiddle with your gear stick and get her all revved up... or something like that anyway. Charlie Higson would put it better.

But, as this image proves, that's not the only comparison you can make between the fairer sex and cars - the best ones are also just as pretty with no clothes on.

This is particularly true of the CLK GTR. In fact, we love this mega-rare homologation special so much in its automotive nudity that we've had to make it POTW. So if you can't stretch to the half a million quid or so that this roadster is expected to fetch when it goes to auction next month, you can at least get yourself some wallpaper action.

Check out the exhaust pipes on that, etc etc...

PS: If you are reading this and you happen to be a lady, please just swap 'woman' for 'man', 'her' for 'him' and so on. We think it still works...

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[GTWayne]

You love those exhausts? OK, you have them and I will have the rest

[nav p]

I may sell my house for it....

[gary71]

GTWayne said:

You love those exhausts? OK, you have them and I will have the rest

Indeed. You can keep those stainless dustbins!

[stuckmojo]

/want

[iluvmercs]

Darren

[daveco]

I remember reading about the GTR in EVO and the sheer awkwardness of the gearbox; paddle shifting with a clutch! Impressive picture though-

[ctallchris]

Stere are some cars that just look so damn good naked!

[PhantomPH]

Told ya.

[joz8968]

I'm assuming it still makes a (nice) din WITH the exhaust system?!

Can you imagine the racket if those two - not insignificant - mufflers were REMOVED!!!

Edited by joz8968 on Friday 25th September 14:52

[sprinty]

I remember having my one and only sighting of this car at the Goodwood festival of speed a few years ago (02/03?). It certainly is one impressive peice of kit, well to look at anyhow (have read some questionable reviews on the handling). It was of course in the supercar 'grid', for those people that have not been before they stop racing after a group slot then allow the cars to come down from the pits which is situated about a 1/3 along the track, anyway when they get to the gate at the bottom of the hill they need to be turned around. Obviously most racing cars dont have reverse so they have a few marshalls to push the cars back so they can do a three point turn. When this car came down the driver waved the marshalls away, he then gave one very short blip on the throttle to do a perfect 180 degree donut then found his place in line!!! For that one moment the car has remained at the top of my 'lottery list'.

There were mclaren F1LM's in the queue and even the drivers of those were straining there necks to get a look at this thing!

[joz8968]

Yeah love this car - it's mad looking and purposefull! Genuine Hypercar stuff... but which wouldn't look out of place on a FIA GT grid.

It allegedly does have handling that's, er, challenging, to say the least.

Edited by joz8968 on Friday 25th September 19:30

[Stuart]

Wasn't it the race version of this car that took Dumbreck for an unanticipated aerial tour of Mulsanne in 1999?

[Rollcage]

Stuart said:

Wasn't it the race version of this car that took Dumbreck for an unanticipated aerial tour of Mulsanne in 1999?

That was a CLR - did it to Webber as well (Twice )

[charlescrawley]

The CLK-GTR was the slightly earlier version of the CLR and raced in FIA GT, IIRC... The CLK-LM Raced at Le Mans in '98 and the CLR raced in '99... And never again!

[RobPhoboS]

Straight through pipes please