Photo: u/Aceemerald on Reddit
Built as a Homologation Special model - as per old FIA rules, you had to build 25 road-going examples of a car to have it homologated for top-tier GT racing - the 1998-99 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR is on a lot of people's list of hottest supercars of all time. Spotting one in the wild is a rare and momentous occasion.
One reason for that is that most owners treat these beauties like an investment and keep them locked up. For example, one of the previous owners of this exact car (number 8 of 25), a French gentleman from Paris, put precisely 0 km on it while it was in his possession. And the model had just 800 km (497 miles) on the clock when it was bought by the current owner.
It's an incredibly expensive car that's incredibly expensive to maintain and repair, so people don't want to risk taking it for a spin. When launched, a CLK GTR would've set you back no less than $1,547,620, making it the most expensive car in the world at the time. These days, whenever one pops up for sale, it sells for between 2 million and 4.5 million dollars.
Another reason to keep it locked up is that the CLK GTR is notoriously challenging to drive on regular roads. It's 1,951 mm (76.8 in) wide, wider than a Hummer H3. It's just 1,100 mm (43.3 in) tall, lower than a Lamborghini Diablo. It's incredibly long for a coupé, at 4,855 mm (191.1 in), almost as long as a current-gen, short wheelbase S-Class. It has a very delicate clutch and its 6.9 liter V12 puts out 612 hp, so to tame this beast and take it out on the open road you need to be a pretty skilled driver. Preferably a racing driver.
That's why the current owner of this car, Italian racing driver Eugenio Amos, isn't one of those people that keep their CLK GTR locked up. And that's how somebody was able to snap a picture of the car out driving in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
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