Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM '98

Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM
Production Info
	Mercedes-Benz 1998 Race Car Germany
Engine and Power
Engine Code	M119.GT108B
Aspiration	Naturally-Aspirated
Displacement	5.0 L
Engine Type	V8
Power	599 BHP (447 kW)
Torque	397.8 lb-ft (539.3 Nm)
Gearbox	6-speed
Drivetrain and Weight
Layout	Mid-Engined
Drivetrain	Rear-Wheel Drive
Weight	2071 lbs (939 kg)
PWR	3.46 lbs / HP
Performance
PP in GT5/6	655 PP
PP in GT7	830.83 PP
Class	Gr.2
Dimensions
Length	4900 mm (192.9 in)
Width	1990 mm (78.3 in)
Height	1129 mm (44.4 in)

The Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM '98 is a race car produced by Mercedes-Benz and AMG. It first appeared in Gran Turismo 4 and has been featured in all subsequent mainline games except Gran Turismo Sport.

The car is #2, driven by Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta, who won in the GT1 class of the 1998 FIA GT Championship. In Gran Turismo 7, it appears to be based on the specification used for the 24 Heures du Mans that same year. The car, however, failed to finish the race.

Other names

This car appears under different names depending on the game and version. Note that the name used before GT5 version 1.07 is incorrect, and the car doesn't have the "AMG Mercedes" prefix since GT7 version 1.31.

Game	Version	Name
Gran Turismo 4	All	AMG Mercedes CLK-GTR Race Car '98
Gran Turismo PSP	All	AMG Mercedes CLK-GTR Race Car '98
Gran Turismo 5	1.00 to 1.06	AMG Mercedes CLK-GTR Race Car '98
Gran Turismo 5	1.07 and later	AMG Mercedes CLK-LM Race Car '98
Gran Turismo 6	All	AMG Mercedes CLK-LM '98
Gran Turismo 7	1.00 to 1.30	AMG Mercedes CLK-LM '98
Gran Turismo 7	1.31 and later	Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM '98

In-game description

Car Index

"Replacing the heavy V12 with a V8, this was the race car that dominated the FIA GT competition."

To compete in the FIA-GT championship that began in 1997, DaimlerChrysler and AMG began a joint project to develop a racing machine in just 128 days. This car was the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR. The front grille of the car comes from the CLK, but the rest of the car is a pure racing machine. The body skeleton is a carbon-fibre-composite monocoque with a steel roll cage, and a body with a giant air intake on the roof covers this chassis.

Mounted amidship behind the seat is a 5,000 cc V12 that produces 591.7 BHP. Even though the CLK GTR was never tested adequately, it had an astonishing debut year winning 6 of 11 races and making Bernd Schneider the series champion.

In the following 1998 season, Porsche developed and introduced the 911 GT1 and thus began a struggle between the two cars. Because of this, in addition to the two works cars that Mercedes entered in the FIA GT, they also provided two CLK GTR’s to private teams in order to strengthen their efforts on the track.

For the 24 Hours of Le Mans, they entered the CLK LM, the successor to the CLK GTR. The major difference between the LM and the GTR was the engine; the V12 engine was replaced with a lightweight V8. In addition, the radiator was moved to the side, the body was redesigned, and the suspension was changed to a pushrod system, achieving a more Formula-style control characteristic.

The CLK LM did not finish the Le Mans, but subsequently became the FIA GT championship works machine. As a result, the GTR and LM won 10 out of 10 races, a perfect victory. The team of Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta produced 5 wins.

Legend Cars

This CLK-LM is one of the most attractive racing cars ever produced by Mercedes-Benz. It only competed for a few years in the late 90’s, in GT1, then the pinnacle of touring car races. GT1-class regulations only required an automaker to build one street car to be approved for competition. Despite their appearance, the resulting street cars were in fact full-fledged racing cars at heart. The CLK-LM’s predecessor, the CLK-GTR, was produced under these regulations in 1997. When the FIA GT World Championships began that same year, the CLK-GTR took home title victories. This CLK-LM is a further evolution of the CLK-GTR. The replacement of the V12 engine with a V8 led to an improvement in the machine’s overall balance. As soon as it debuted at the ’98 FIA-GT Championships, it embarked on a winning rampage, taking home both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ world championship titles.

Acquisition

Game	Purchase location	Credits	Other methods
Gran Turismo 4	---	---	Win the Deutsche Touring Car Meisterschaft event.
Gran Turismo PSP	Mercedes-Benz Dealership	3,500,000	---
Gran Turismo 5	Used Car Dealership (Lv. 23+)	3,542,130	Complete the Intermediate AMG Driving Academy event with all Golds.
Gran Turismo 6	Mercedes-Benz Dealership	1,800,000	---
Gran Turismo 7	Legend Cars	8,500,000	---

Trivia

• The rendition of the CLK-LM present in GT4 to GT6 had a power output of 797 BHP and weighed 1000 kg. These were changed to more closely match the real-life spec in GT7.
• The 1997 version of the CLK-GTR was originally planned to be included in GT2 (screenshots of the car in-game exist), but the car was completely removed from the game before release, likely due to licensing issues.
• In GT5 and GT6, the left rear light appears to be brighter than the right rear light. This is easily noticeable on a night course, or on a circuit with variable time and/or weather.
• Despite racing in the GT1 class in real life, the CLK-LM bears a Gr.2 classification in GT7 due to the GT1 loophole of regulation allows manufacturer to make silhouette grand touring race cars similar to GT500 with only one street legal version which can be not for sale.
• The original, real life car carries sponsorship from Warsteiner; on the in-game model however, due to international alcohol advertising laws, Mercedes-Benz decals are present instead.
  • Similarly, for the fourth round of the FIA GT Championship in Dijon, France (where alcohol advertisements are banned) Mercedes-Benz removed all Warsteiner decals from the car.
• The car that appears in the games uses the rims used by the 1997 CLK-GTR. Additionally, in GT7, the car's interior features paddle shifters that were used only at Le Mans.
• In GT7, when a custom livery is applied, the Mobil 1 and D2 Privat logos on the car's interior (visible from the outside) are not removed. The car's default livery in that game is also missing blue stripes on the car's roof that were present in the previous games.
• This car was listed as an AMG car in GT7 until version 1.31, being changed to a Mercedes-Benz branded vehicle in that version.
  • In the pre-release Behind the Scenes videos, the CLK-LM is listed as a Mercedes-Benz car.

Pictures

One of the pre-release screenshots depicting the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR in GT2. Interestingly, the car depicted in the pre-release screenshots of GT2 appears to be based on the 1997 specification CLK-GTR. There is a Warsteiner logo on the front bumper, which likely would have been removed if the car made it to the final game.

The CLK-LM as it appears in GT6.

A render of the 1997 CLK-GTR as shown in issue 68 of Edge magazine. This render also appeared in a memory card sticker set from The PlayStation magazine in Japan. It appears to be #10, driven by Alessandro Nannini (with Marcel Tiemann as primary co-driver) which won the 1997 FIA GT Championship's GT1 class team championship. Note the unfinished model with D2 decals missing, as well as the Warsteiner decals on the front bumper and hood.

The vehicle banner as it appears in GT4.

A clip from GT7's Behind the Scenes: Powered by PS5 trailer, where it has been classed as a Gr.2 vehicle. It was also listed as a Mercedes-Benz vehicle, which was changed to AMG at release before being reverted in version 1.31.