Mercedes didn't exactly have road use in mind when they designed the CLK GTR for the recently introduced FIA GT Championship, but in order to meet homologation standards for the series 25 cars were built for the street.
The result was an impressive vehicle that looked and drove like a racecar thinly disguised for street use. Interestingly enough by the time the cars were being delivered to their non-American buyers in 1999 the race series the cars were homologated for was already dead, but Mercedes was still obligated to build the cars.
The car you see here, which is currently listed on Ebay, is #17 of the 25 built. Although it is somewhat surprisingly titled for road use in Florida (the show and display law is likely to thank) this CLK GTR has only traveled 1492 miles since new.
Amazingly this particular car is even rarer than the "average" CLK GTR—not that there is actually such a thing. #17 was one of just two cars built at the factory with the Super Sport package. Instead of the 604 horsepower 6.9 liter V12, this car came with a 655 horsepower 7.3 liter V12 (also used in the Pagani Zonda).
Whether you love the styling of this Mercedes super car or hate it, it's hard to argue with how impressive the car looks. We imagine thanks to the massive mid-mounted V12 the driving experience is equally impressive—at least once you get it to a track.
While there is a taker for this car's $1 million opening bid, it will take quite a bit more to put this ultra-rare super Benz in
your garage. In non Super Sport form these cars sold new for $1.55 million and this CLK GTR has been advertised at $1.8 million.
Although that may be a small fortune for most people, if you have the money and can't live without an ultra rare street-spec Mercedes race car in the garage this is the car for you.
[Ebay via Bring a Trailer]