Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Roadster Drug-Affiliated Seized By FBI

FBI seizes multi-million dollar CLK GTR Roadster that belongs to former Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding.
 

Just a handful of weeks ago, we sang the praises of the phenomenally rare Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Roadster. It’s an extremely rare open-top version of the already extremely rare CLK GTR, and, technically, Mercedes only built one. However, AMG co-founder Hans-Werner Aufrecht and his newer company HWA went on to produce five more of them. So, in total, six of these monstrous V12 roadsters came to be. Unfortunately, one of these hard-to-come-by legends made headlines recently for a reason that’s legendary in a more traditional sense of the word.
 
The Drive brought the FBI seizure of this roadster to our attention, and it’s a rollercoaster story that is so crazy you’d think it was straight out of an action screenplay. However, it’s very real. Unfortunately, that means that this one-of-six icon is now in the hands of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, thanks to former Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug lord, Ryan Wedding. Feel free to read that sentence again. We know it sounds insane.
 

Who is Ryan Wedding, and Why Did He Have This CLK GTR Roadster?
In the ultimate case of fact being stranger than fiction, Wedding is a former Canadian professional snowboarder who even represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. It’s no secret that most Olympic athletes don’t make much money. Many athletes work regular jobs most of the year and move on with their career path after competing in the Olympics. According to The New York Post, that career path for Wedding allegedly came in the form of working with the Sinaloa Cartel to traffic over 60 metric tons of cocaine from Colombia into the U.S. via Mexico annually. Furthermore, the FBI alleges that Wedding ordered the murder of an FBI witness in Colombia, as well. Now, Wedding sits amongst the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list.
 
The Drive reports that Wedding’s alleged drug trafficking is responsible for $1 billion in annual proceeds. So, the $13 million price tag of the CLK GTR Roadster doesn’t seem all that wild when you bring that perspective in. The car was seized by the Los Angeles wing of the FBI, but the FBI believes that Wedding is in hiding in Mexico under the protection of the cartel. Their media outreach shows photos of him that were taken in 2014 along with a list of aliases.
 

What will happen to this CLK GTR Roadster?
Here’s hoping that eventually the car will find a new owner and won’t wind up around a pole or in the personal collection of a high-ranking FBI official. At the time of writing, there’s no definitive answer as to what will happen to this car. There’s no shortage of historic cars that met the crusher in connection with crimes. We’re crossing our fingers in hopes that one of the most expensive and rare Mercedes vehicles in existence doesn’t wind up with the same fate.