Sunday, November 1, 2009

Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR supercars sold for more than £1 million

At an auction last week, two rare 720bhp Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR supercars were bought for more than £1 million. These two cars were included in the 26 examples (20 coupes and six roadsters) of the GT1 racecar-derived machine that were made for the road in the late 1990s. The 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Roadster was the only right-hand drive example built and it was the top sale of the auction that evening, selling for £616,000. The coupe was sold for £522,500. These two cars were speculated to have come from the collection of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei. The coupe was estimated to be priced at £370-390,000, while the roadster estimate was £430,000-£500,000, about a third of what they cost new. The CLK GTR was modified only slightly from the racecar. It is powered by an Ilmor modified 720bhp 6.9-litre naturally aspirated V12 engine with dual overhead camshafts. It is claimed to have 572lb ft of torque and an acceleration time of 3.4sec to achieve 0-62mph.