The original Mercedes-Benz CLK was in essence a Mercedes C-Class coupé. The CLK GTR, though? Far, far from it.
About all they shared were some styling cues, the CLK GTR being a £1.1 million supercar that could go faster than any other, at 200mph, a limited-production special created to homologate the racer that had wiped the floor with its rivals in the 1997 FIA GT Championship.
We reported: “The sheer range of torque from the 6.9-litre V12 is astonishing. There’s so much urge, so much of the time, that the gearbox is almost superfluous.
“The suspension is firm, yet it feels civilised. It’s the steering that’s the revelation, fabulously direct, lighter than you’d ever expect, totally consistent in its weighting and always alive.
“It turns instinctively. It’s too big and heavy to throw about, yet it behaves like a much smaller, more naturally agile sports car.
“The GTR is not a toy. It’s too well built to deserve such a putdown. Yet it’s hard to see any relevance for it, apart from a career as a part-time plaything for the mega-rich. This is not real.”
Be that as it may, you will need about £7m for one of the 20 today.
We drive the top-secret BMW Z3M Coupé
Of considerably more interest to the average performance car enthusiast than the mega Mercedes CLK GTR, albeit still not the easiest to actually get hold of, was BMW’s new Z3-based M Coupé, built in secrecy after hours by M engineers.
To make production cost-effective, most parts had to be shared, resulting in an odd-looking thing with an elongated deck – or a clown shoe, as many put it.
Behind that aggressive face was the 3.2-litre 24-valve straight six from the BMW M3. Although downtuned slightly to 321bhp, it still gave 0-62mph in just 4.9sec.