1998 Mercedes CL 700 Is One of the Rarest AMGs Ever, Was Built for Royalty

And if you thought that the SL 73 AMG of the '90s was a rare vehicle, you probably never knew a Mercedes-Benz CL 700 AMG even existed. According to the seller, this is one of two copies in existence, and it is said to have been built for the Sultan of Brunei. Once again, I can't help but think that the Sultan has had access to some of the coolest cars ever built.

The only question that remains is this: did he get to drive any of these cars, or did most of them go unused for years and years? Anyway, this car wasn't intended to be driven in Brunei, but instead, it was parked at the Sultan's residence in Berkshire, UK. The car was supplied by Greenoaks of Maidenhead, which is still a Mercedes-Benz retailer to this day.

This CL 700 was built in 1998, and it was finished in a very exclusive Designo LCP paintwork, which means that you're either looking at a dark blue or green coupe, depending on the light. The green theme goes on inside with the Designo black leather with green inner pannels. This car received the full AMG treatment, including the 7.0-liter V12 engine, exhaust, suspension, brakes, body kit, and 19-inch alloy wheels.

With the V12 unit under the hood, this thing should be capable of around 500 horsepower and 531 lb-ft (720 Nm) of torque, which doesn't sound half bad for 1998. The 7.0-liter unit does look massive under there, as it takes up quite a lot of space. As you would expect, this car comes with all the extras you could get at the time, including Xenon lights, Parktronic, a glass sunroof, heated seats with memory, and much more.

As this is a 23-year-old vehicle, some maintenance was required to make it run smoothly, so a complete top-end engine rebuild was carried out, the brakes and front suspension were replaced, and the wheels were refurbished. Apart from some minor signs of old age on the inside, this car doesn't look a day old, although it does show 63,598 miles (102,351 km) on the odometer. Since the Sultan, it has had two more owners, and it is now looking for its fourth one.

Rumored to have cost £250,000 ($349,160) back in the '90s, it's almost shocking to see it advertised for £89,995 ($125,690) today. And for that kind of money, you could go out and buy yourself a brand new S 560 4Matic Coupe that comes with a 4.0-liter bi-turbo V8 with 463 horsepower on tap. It sounds like a tough choice indeed, at least if you intend to go out and buy just one car instead of starting a collection.