A Mercedes CLK DTM, The Black Series’ Cool Older Sibling, Is For Sale

Usually, when a car company triumphs in some form of motorsport, it celebrates with a cash-grab special edition that amounts to some stickers and a numbered plaque on the dash. The Subaru Impreza Series McRae. The Citroen C4 By Loeb. Heck, even Mercedes is guilty of this, with the clumsily named A45 Petronas 2015 World Champion Edition.

Back when it won the 2003 DTM touring car championship, though, Mercedes went a bit overboard with its celebrations. It was so chuffed that the new racing version of its second-gen CLK had taken the spoils that it completely re-engineered the road car into one of the rarest road-going AMG models of all: the CLK DTM AMG. Hope you like three-letter initialisms.

At the time, the fastest CLK was the 55 AMG version, which packed a naturally aspirated, 362bhp 5.4-litre V8. For the DTM, Mercedes swapped it out for a supercharged version. With strengthened internals and a new exhaust system, power shot up to 574bhp, although it was still channelled through an old-fashioned five-speed auto ’box.

Mercedes didn’t just stop at the engine: it fitted an uprated limited-slip diff, fully adjustable suspension and beefed-up driveshafts. It even eschewed rubber bushings in the suspension for hardcore metal joints, and packaged it all in a massively swole widened body that makes even the later CLK Black Series look a bit weedy.

Carbon ceramic brakes and recalibrated electronic assistance systems helped keep everything in check (vaguely, anyway – this is still a 2000s AMG). The inside, meanwhile, was awash with carbon fibre and finished off with some serious-looking bucket seats, complete with proper harnesses. The results of all these changes were a 3.9-second 0-62mph sprint and a top speed that met the minimum entry requirements for the 200mph club.

Just 100 DTM coupes were built between 2004 and 2006 (somewhat hilariously, 80 examples of the boulevard-cruising CLK Convertible would get the same treatment). This is one of just 40 right-hand drive examples, and it’s up for auction with Collecting Cars, having covered just 7,883 miles with three previous owners.

There are certainly no worries to be had with its maintenance, with its records showing some 10 services since it crossed the 6,000-mile mark. DTM values have been steadily climbing for the last few years, and £300k seems to be a ballpark figure. As we write this, with a week to go on the auction, the highest bid is £99,999, but expect that to climb and climb. Still, beats a little ‘DTM Champions’ plaque on the dash.