Mercedes-Benz would use the 1997 CLK GTR AMG for the first two rounds of the 1998 season before upgrading to the CLK GTR AMG LM.
After conquering the FIA GT Championship with CLK GTR, Mercedes-Benz set its sights on competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998, which it had not been at since 1991 withSauber-Mercedes C11. However, Le Mans presented a different challenge from that offered in FIA GT, in that the race distances were nearly one tenth the distance covered at Le Mans. Therefore Mercedes-AMG set about altering the CLK GTR in order to meet the new demands required at Le Mans.
First and foremost, Mercedes-AMG decided that the M120 V12 would not be up to the task of running for 24 hours. It was decided instead that Mercedes would actually return to an engine they had used in Group C in the late 1980s, the M119 V8. Abandoning the turbochargers that the M119 had used in Group C and enlarging the displacement, Mercedes-AMG felt that the M119 would have better reliability at speeds while still performing the same amount of power as the M120 due to air restrictor regulations.
The CLK LM’s V8 engine produced approximately 600 hp (450 kW), allowing it to reach speeds up to 330 km/h (205 mph) in testing for the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans. Mercedes-AMG claimed a virtual top speed of 335 km/h (208 mph). In total, four racing variant CLK-LMs were constructed and one road-going version was built to comply with the 1998 FIA regulations.
Satisfied with the engine, Mercedes-AMG also set about altering the bodywork to better cope with the high speeds of Le Mans. The nose was lowered, with the large front brake cooling ducts on the sides of the nose being removed and replaced by a single, large opening in the front of the car. The roof of the car was also lowered and a new engine air intake designed. Various other mechanical tweaks were also performed. This new car would become known as CLK GTR AMG LM, standing for Le Mans.
Two cars entered in the Le Mans classic:
No. 35 in the hands of Bernd Schneider, Klaus Ludwig and Mark Webber,
No. 36 driven by Christophe Bouchut, Ricardo Zonta and Jean-Marc Gounon.
Very fast, the CLK-LM performs the pole position in the hands of Bernd Schneider in 3’35 “544 in front of the Toyota GT-One , Porsche 911 GT1 and other Nissan R390 GT1.
Unfortunately, both cars will have to abandon very early [19 laps for car No. 35 (You can see it HERE.) and 31 laps for 36(The video is HERE)]. The height of misfortune for Mercedes, the No. 35 will stop down on the pit straight, which is the busiest part of the circuit.
Returning to FIA GT, Mercedes-Benz replaced their older CLK GTRs with the new CLK LMs and saw greater success. The two cars easily won every remaining race, including six 1-2 finishes. This handed Mercedes-Benz the teams championship again, while Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta would share the drivers championship.
For the 1999 season, no competitor attempted to enter the GT1 class in FIA GT except for Mercedes-Benz, forcing the FIA to cancel the class, similar to the DTM/ITC two years earlier. Mercedes-Benz thus turned to constructing an all-new car to overcome their failure at Le Mans. No longer forced to build a racing car that could also be a road car, Mercedes-AMG set about creating the Mercedes-Benz CLR.
Dimensions
Weight 1000 kilo / 2204.6 lbs
Length / Width / Height 4854 mm (191.1 in) / 1951 mm (76.8 in) / 1102 mm (43.4 in)
Wheelbase / Track (fr/r) 2670 mm (105.1 in) / 1600 mm (63 in) / 1600 mm (63 in)
Performance figures
Power 612 bhp / 457 KW @ 6800 rpm
Torque 770 Nm / 568 ft lbs @ 5250 rpm
BHP/Liter 89 bhp / liter
Power to weight 0.61 bhp / kg
Top Speed 307 km/h / 191 mph
0-60 mph 3.4 s
Here is the 1998 FIA GT season review. In the first two races the 1997 CLK GTR AMG‘s are being used by Mercedes, CLK GTR LM being used after the Le Mans race.
8. The C111 design study was originally baptized , the C101 project. However, the “0 (zero)” in the middle had to disappear , since this number combination has long been protected by....
Dec 18 2014
1998 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR AMG LM
Ready for Le Mans…
Mercedes-Benz would use the 1997 CLK GTR AMG for the first two rounds of the 1998 season before upgrading to the CLK GTR AMG LM.
After conquering the FIA GT Championship with CLK GTR, Mercedes-Benz set its sights on competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998, which it had not been at since 1991 with Sauber-Mercedes C11. However, Le Mans presented a different challenge from that offered in FIA GT, in that the race distances were nearly one tenth the distance covered at Le Mans. Therefore Mercedes-AMG set about altering the CLK GTR in order to meet the new demands required at Le Mans.
First and foremost, Mercedes-AMG decided that the M120 V12 would not be up to the task of running for 24 hours. It was decided instead that Mercedes would actually return to an engine they had used in Group C in the late 1980s, the M119 V8. Abandoning the turbochargers that the M119 had used in Group C and enlarging the displacement, Mercedes-AMG felt that the M119 would have better reliability at speeds while still performing the same amount of power as the M120 due to air restrictor regulations.
The CLK LM’s V8 engine produced approximately 600 hp (450 kW), allowing it to reach speeds up to 330 km/h (205 mph) in testing for the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans. Mercedes-AMG claimed a virtual top speed of 335 km/h (208 mph). In total, four racing variant CLK-LMs were constructed and one road-going version was built to comply with the 1998 FIA regulations.
Satisfied with the engine, Mercedes-AMG also set about altering the bodywork to better cope with the high speeds of Le Mans. The nose was lowered, with the large front brake cooling ducts on the sides of the nose being removed and replaced by a single, large opening in the front of the car. The roof of the car was also lowered and a new engine air intake designed. Various other mechanical tweaks were also performed. This new car would become known as CLK GTR AMG LM, standing for Le Mans.
Two cars entered in the Le Mans classic:
Very fast, the CLK-LM performs the pole position in the hands of Bernd Schneider in 3’35 “544 in front of the Toyota GT-One , Porsche 911 GT1 and other Nissan R390 GT1.
Unfortunately, both cars will have to abandon very early [19 laps for car No. 35 (You can see it HERE.) and 31 laps for 36(The video is HERE)]. The height of misfortune for Mercedes, the No. 35 will stop down on the pit straight, which is the busiest part of the circuit.
Returning to FIA GT, Mercedes-Benz replaced their older CLK GTRs with the new CLK LMs and saw greater success. The two cars easily won every remaining race, including six 1-2 finishes. This handed Mercedes-Benz the teams championship again, while Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta would share the drivers championship.
For the 1999 season, no competitor attempted to enter the GT1 class in FIA GT except for Mercedes-Benz, forcing the FIA to cancel the class, similar to the DTM/ITC two years earlier. Mercedes-Benz thus turned to constructing an all-new car to overcome their failure at Le Mans. No longer forced to build a racing car that could also be a road car, Mercedes-AMG set about creating the Mercedes-Benz CLR.
Dimensions
Weight 1000 kilo / 2204.6 lbs
Length / Width / Height 4854 mm (191.1 in) / 1951 mm (76.8 in) / 1102 mm (43.4 in)
Wheelbase / Track (fr/r) 2670 mm (105.1 in) / 1600 mm (63 in) / 1600 mm (63 in)
Performance figures
Power 612 bhp / 457 KW @ 6800 rpm
Torque 770 Nm / 568 ft lbs @ 5250 rpm
BHP/Liter 89 bhp / liter
Power to weight 0.61 bhp / kg
Top Speed 307 km/h / 191 mph
0-60 mph 3.4 s
Here is the 1998 FIA GT season review. In the first two races the 1997 CLK GTR AMG‘s are being used by Mercedes, CLK GTR LM being used after the Le Mans race.
By Catalin Varvara • FIA GT, MB MotorSports 0 • Tags: AMG, CLK GTR, CLK GTR LM, CLK LM, mercedes benz clk gtr, mercedes-benz, Mercedes-Benz motorsport, road cars