Though the name “Mercedes CLK” conjures images of stuffy coupes, the CLK was a racing champion — and the roadgoing DTM AMG and 63 AMG Black Series are perhaps the best-driving, most outrageous Mercedes of all time.
Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM AMG and Black Series are Insane Benzes from the Factory Floor — Revelations w/ Jason Cammisa
Motorsport pedigree, AMG versions, homologation specials and a Black Series model sums up what you can get from a CLK.
When Jason Camissa opens the video below, explaining that the CLK is just a 2-door C-class, some people might want to correct that. But, he’s right. Despite being styled to look like their respective E-class counter types, it’s either a 2-door W202, or W203. And that turns the CLK into something quite special. So we’re making sure people actually realize that.
What most people remember the CLK for was the ultra low volume specials. They had the CLK and CLR line of race cars, which were cool. But they were also entirely irrelevant to the C208/C209 road cars. You might say, “but wait, they had 208’s and 209’s in DTM!” And you’d be correct. Here’s a fun fact, when it came to DTM, Mercedes handed the project to HWA (yes, the one making the EVO). The 209 that raced? It was a re-bodied 208. That’s how far removed they were from the standard cars.
OK, but production models still existed for other special cars, right? Lets face it, the CLK DTM isn’t even offered here in the USA, and the Black Series was so late in the production run that it had no carry-over effect to other models. But there’s plenty of other CLK models that are actually really very good. They just don’t get the headlines like a CLK 63 AMG Black Series.
Of the AMG models, the C209 CLK55 is actually in a sweet spot. Yours truly has a 2004. I have smaller brakes, regular coil springs, and that big M113 N/A V8. No one is going to scoff at 362 horsepower these days, and it gets out of its own way plenty fast. You could get bigger brakes on later CLK55’s and the facelift upgrades, too. Or how about this cheat code – Want a C43 AMG but don’t want to pay C43 prices? Get a CLK 430. Outside of a modest bump in horsepower and a little suspension tuning, they offer 92% of the same experience. Need more power but don’t want a AMG? Get a later CLK 550 with the M273 V8. That’s got 380 horsepower and the super quick 7-speed auto.
