In 2004, to celebrate its involvement in the Deustche Tourenwagen Masters championship - that's the DTM - Mercedes-Benz wheeled out the beguiling CLK DTM AMG. It looked excellent. It was bloody fast. And all 100 units sold out.
So in 2006, Mercedes decided to build another limited run of these astonishing cars, this time with the roof lopped off. Enter one of the most exclusive Mercedes-Benz AMG models in the world, the CLK DTM AMG Cabriolet.
Here's one that's popped up for sale in Saudi Arabia, featuring just 9,400km on the clock, and resplendent in metallic white.
Why should you care? Because at the time of its launch, Merc told us it was the fastest open-top four-seater in the world. It certainly had the minerals: underneath sat the old 5.4-litre supercharged V8, producing a heady 582bhp and a similarly thunderous 590lb ft of torque.
All that was somehow harnessed by a five-speed automatic and delivered to those fat, 20-inch, 285-section rear tyres to record a 0-62mph time of just 4.0 seconds, only two-tenths down on the CLK DTM AMG Coupe's time.
Top speed? Limited to a mere 186mph, lest your head gets lopped off in the turbulence. Probably.
The bonnet, doors, front wings, flared rear arches, front and rear aprons and spoiler were all made from lightweight carbon fibre composites. It had adjustable suspension. The front and rear tracks were widened. The rear suspension was re-engineered to feature new spring links and hub carriers, as well as stronger drive shafts, and it featured a limited-slip diff and retuned ESP, too.
There were bigger, stronger AMG composite brakes, lightweight alloys (19s up front, 20s at the back), AMG carbon fibre bucket seats inside, leather and Alcantara upholstery, carbon fibre interior panels and an AMG steering wheel.
It cost a whisker under £200k when it was brand new, and just 100 were ever built. What's it worth now? Well, this example carries a ‘Price on Request' sticker, so your guess is as good as ours. But you need it, because above all the stats and the rarity, it just looks excellent.
Check the listing here. Still more valuable than that Picasso painting, we suspect...
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