The Full Story - Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR & CLK LM & CLR - Race & Street Versions

[@shazmeister2005]

Bit more info on the CLR crashes. The first time Webber took off it didn’t really flip, it just kind of took off then crashed back down onto its wheels. As there was no footage Mercedes initially basically refused to believe Webber about what had happened. The car was heavily damaged but repaired in time for the race. Some sources say a spare monocoque was delivered from Germany so it is unknown exactly how many CLR chassis Mercedes actually built. Webber’s second flip in the warmup for the race is exactly as you described it, landed on its roof and that was game over for it. Also absolutely correct about the aero mods, consulting Adrian Newey etc. The drivers were all asked and basically given the option to pull out but none did. When Dumbreck took off it was at the same place as Webber’s first crash, a very bumpy part of the track over a crest, he was closely following the Toyota, something they had been instructed not to do (I mean they are racing what was he meant to do), you’ll observe on the footage just before the crash he doesn’t follow Boutsen directly over the Mulsanne hump, he goes into the other lane. When he took off the car landed in a recently cleared section of trees, the car landed on its wheels, a tree stump came right up through the bottom of the cockpit where the passengers seat would be (if there was one) Dumbreck was very very lucky, he had concussion but other than being a bit battered and bruised had no injuries. Had the trees not been cleared or had he landed a few inches away he would quite probably have been killed. The last remaining car was immediately retired from the race and the rumours were that Mercedes destroyed the car. That wasn’t the case as it reappeared in 2009. It has appeared in public a handful of times, Mercedes had it for a display of the career of their driver Bernd Schneider in 2013 (I think), it is believed to be in the hands of a private collector. It still looks exactly as is did in 1999, only difference is the headlight lenses look yellow, don’t know if they were changed to that or if they have just yellowed with age. There are a few theories and se excellent videos explaining why it took off. Basically it had a long body in comparison to its wheelbase (as did most cars of its ilk, eg 911 GT1) so had big over hangs in front of the front wheels and behind the rear wheels. This coupled with an aerodynamic instability essentially made the car pitch back back and forth. At the extreme this stalled the aero and created lift under the front of the car, the rear wing still created a huge amount of downforce so this essentially acted as a leaver to flip the car. This was something inherent in the design, when you watch footage of it you can see it bucking and diving under braking and acceleration, the CLK GTR had this trait too but the effect wasn’t extreme enough for it to take off. Shame as it was an absolutely beautiful car with an engine note to die for.

[@Gullwingman]

BREAKING NEWS - Somebody has just bought a CLK GTR after being inspired by this video! This is not a joke. How insane is that??? 🤩🤯😍

[@mosca3289]

%

[@gusb6502]

Damn

[@KeenanStyles]

Thats a huge achievement! Congrats your level of inspiration is immeasurable

[@OIR339]

@@cl1967 BC probably sold his considering the dude doesn’t have a DL anymore

[@SuperIceman44]

Same here. Got inspired and bought one myself in Forza.

[@theboss-hc6vd]

Imagine Mercedes taking part in Le Mans again, it would be great

[@Gullwingman]

Would be phenomenal !!! But I would not hang my hopes too high with that... unfortunately.

[@gto861]

Sorry imagination power lost

[@sayamahmed649]

They would dominate like they are in F1

[@Ayixlia]

They are the made a new supercar for 2021 ans working on a LeMans version of it.

[@charlesnessel9583]

I feel like Mercedes might be a little bit superstitious when it comes to Le Mans. Between the airborne CLR's to the 1955 crash, they have the two most ill fated years as a race team at Le Sarthe.

[@arjun._.bbC6]

I can see why Walter Röhrl said "i don't like jumps....If I want to fly, I would be a jet pilot, not a racing driver".

[@Gruftkriecher]

A Walter Röhrl reference... here, take my upvote ;-)

[@arjun._.bbC6]

@Julius Devin I for sure don't give a sh*t.

[@Gruftkriecher]

@@arjun._.bbC6 I second that!

[@marcocolombo4388]

@Julius Devin ..

[@royliber3824]

McLaren: "Everything about this car is well thought, the wind flows through the F1 like butter" Mercedes: "Let's put the pop-up bonnet logo cause we're Mercedes"

[@Gullwingman]

:D

[@Gullwingman]

Our V12 will take care of the extra drag anyway ;D

[@owenchuarbx]

The CLK GTR is honestly my favourite car of all time. I first knew it since seeing it in Project Gotham Racing 2.

[@Gullwingman]

Same here (except for the Gotham part 😂) 👍

[@MrEShive]

Dang what a fun game. Missed it.

[@subject_7]

I hope Mercedes-Benz returns to Lemans Prototype racing. The level of risk they took with the CLR is what's needed. It brings out the most amazing cars that engineers can fathom

[@ray817oneDEEP]

Uts never gonna be like that. We had 23 different engines competing. Now we only got 4 different dengines

[@reginaldbowls7180]

They might… they just have to copy the new Gordon murray car and slap a stupid grill on it.

[@Jesko.]

@@ray817oneDEEP 2023 le mans was amazing. You should be happy now.

[@juim1j]

Loved it! As a die hard GT fan this is the perfect blend of facts and commentary!

[@Gullwingman]

Thank you very much, that's great to hear 🙌😁

[@AlexToma]

This video was amazing. Thank you! As a Mercedes fan I really appreciate this one. McLaren F1, CLK GTR and 911 GT1 were the pinnacle of the 90s

[@f1mclaren1234]

I think so

[@Mercedes-Benz_CLK_LM]

[@TheBlackScatPack]

I first seen the CLK-GTR as a 10 year old kid when Need For Speed III Hot Pursuit came out and couldn’t forget it ever since.

Need for Speed Road Challenge (High Stakes), from the year 1999, was the first racing video game I bought. That game made the CLK GTR one of my favorite cars when I was young.

[@mrawesomelemons]

You need more subscribers. The research and chill storytelling is out of this world!

[@Gullwingman]

Wow, thank you! :)

[@makowulff2964]

That ending statement calling the CLR "The only gull-winged Silver Arrow that could actually fly" was such a seriously poetic way to put it!

[@SGR_Blackout]

Ohai Mako

[@makowulff2964]

@@SGR_Blackout Heyhey! A familiar name! Hope you're well as always! ^^

[@SGR_Blackout]

@@makowulff2964 Yeah lad, I've been alright honestly. Was surprised to see you here but hope you're also well 👍

[@makowulff2964]

@@SGR_Blackout Thank 'ya bud! ^^

[@SGR_Blackout]

@@makowulff2964 You're welcome 🤝

[@Paul-lu8pc]

I’ve been searching for this so long! Very interesting! I'm looking forward to new videos :)

[@MiguelRPD]

Ever since I've seen it in NFS High Stakes, I've always wanted this car.

[@sharpemang]

Omg me too. That and the McLaren F1 GTR

[@AlexESR71]

19:15 That is the most beautiful piece of footage of any car I've ever seen. 💫

[@ukwan]

I really like this era of Mercedes history, the CLK DTM, CLK GTR, CLK LM and CLR and the C208, C209 and C215 road cars from which the race cars were styled. I think some of the coolest race and road cars ever made.

[@donachille3351]

Tragedy aside, the '99 CLR had to be the most elegant, and sleek race car ever built.

[@BleedForTheWorld]

The KZbin algorithm brought me here and I'm glad it did. This is very well done. No excessive joking and purely informative. I appreciate that a lot.

[@Gullwingman]

Good job, KZbin algorithm 😁

[@Hyvelez]

Played this one a lot in Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit!

[@StigDesign]

King Car in NFS3 and alkso funn in nfs4 and HP2 in 2002 on ps2 :D thats what inspired me on my game making with this car :D Norwegian you too that Loves the old NFS Games, the real nfs Games :D Jeg bruker VEG modern patch for nfs3 og nfs4 for windows 10 :D nfs2 har faktisk en open source på github slik at virker på win10 :)

[@f1mclaren1234]

CLK GTR NFS :HOT PURSUIT WINNER CAR

[@StigDesign]

@@f1mclaren1234 YES :D

[@doalwa]

THANK YOU, I was actually not sure which game introduced me to this wonderful car! Need for Speed 3, of course!

[@WaleSANNI]

I appreciate the history/chronology. The GTR is the only one that I knew and I always thought it was the one that flew. Truly excellent video.

[@richardchu109]

CLK-GTR is one of my all time favorite cars. Thank you for the awesome video.

[@nocive7381]

Me to

[@_F_rog]

How does this only have 2k views this was a great vid

[@Gullwingman]

Thank you Lucas! It's getting more every day 😉 It's still a very young channel and I'm just getting started. So I'm very happy about these 2k. But look at my other videos. They are just as good and literally NOBODY is watching 😂😂😂

[@iElementGraphics]

@@Gullwingman My only suggestion is maybe invest in a different or better microphone, it was hard to listen to at times with my headset because of how much bass there was everytime you spoke. Still thoroughly enjoyed it other then that though :)

[@carsstuffchannel8576]

I’m impressed with your delivery. You’re the most interesting non-actor I’ve been able to watch. I think it’s great, encouraging people to be themselves

[@Gullwingman]

Thank you very much 😇😇😇

[@sbf109]

I even made a plastic model because CLK GTR is my favorite car. It looks so beautiful.

[@Gullwingman]

Proper fan 😁👍

[@Gaindalf93]

3:23 Mercedes engineers rocked vans shoes in the 90s

[@kotnn-g]

You should turn this style video into a series, i would love to learn more about classic racecars and their stories, subscribed!

[@AndreaRoll]

i had the model of that car as a kid. no need to say i just loved to flip it when playing with it :D

[@nickmorgs]

A thoroughly well researched and intriguing story. Thank you Gullwingman.

[@neilspires7259]

Can't believe they were able to fix the #4 CLR in just a few days, with the same driver and race again, unbelievable!

[@KidJaeProductions]

This was definitely one of my favorites (and I’m 25 btw) drove this car in NFS Hot Pursuit 2 and Midnight Club lol

[@akkingdom3502]

Really enjoyed the video mate

[@SuperArief11]

love the gt1. looks very modern vs competitor

[@Mr4Seven]

The roadster is timeless. What a machine! Jesus.

[@ammobeatz5980]

you just won me as a subscriber with this video

[@jamiecloughgaming25387]

Its good to have a video that educates people that these were, 3 different cars, not the same car too many people think the CLK GTR and the CLR are the same car, and there not at all, look closely and you will see the differences, the evolution year on year was clear for all to see. It raced in one of the golden eras of racing, against some very special machines. Of course the confusion between the CLK GTR and its replacement the CLK LM is more understandable since the CLK GTR raced into the 1998 season, even after it was replaced by the CLK LM, the CLK GTR continued to be raced by a customer team, Pearson Motorsport. 1997 The CLK GTR went head to head, with the McLaren F1 GTR Longtail, the title battle between Bernd Shnider and JJ Lehto went to the last race, with Mercedes narrowly beating BMW Motorsport in both driver and constructors titles. 1998 The CLK LM took on the Porsche 911 GT1 '98 to defend its titles, (BMW had pulled out for 1998) but at most tracks the CLK LM was more than a match for the Porsche, with, Mercedes winning all 10 rounds, only losing at Le Mans where Porsche finished 1-2. 1999 The CLR raced against the Toyota GT-One at Le Mans, though the GT One was faster, qualifying 1-2, the CLR was close to it in the race until its dramatic flip put paid to Mercedes 1999 Le Mans bid, Toyota looked set to win but suffered a tyre failure on its GT-One, handing victory to the BMW V12 LMR.

[@AdamTheMan1993]

People forget that the CLK was a GT car and the CLR was a LMP car

[@jamiecloughgaming25387]

@@AdamTheMan1993 Yes, and, the physical evolution was significant, the only thing that was the, same, was they were both Silver, and they were both Mercedes race cars, other, than that 2 different machines.

[@Krezo200]

Good video, thank you

[@1ceman85]

Awesome story! You are very talented storyteller. Thank you so much for this history-lesson. :-)

[@DethThrasher1]

great video, love this era of racing, hope you make more like this. subbed

[@Gullwingman]

Thank you! I'll definitely do more and have a lot of ideas on my list. Just not the time at the moment 😁

[@spiderman-du7yn]

your videos are so well produced and im certainly gonna binge watch all your full story videos, cant believe your only at 3k subscribers rn.

[@And-War]

I like how he just briefly mentioned the purchase of a McLaren F1

[@Fran_SG]

A sad end for an amazing jewel. Great vídeo!!!!

[@views40]

Wow!! That research must have been intense! Excellent work! Excellent storytelling!!

[@robertmiller6444]

I saw the GTR race at Laguna Seca. That was what made me a fan of Mercedes and I've been a fan ever since. I saw the model of the car in the background. I have that one also. I also have the AutoArt 1/12 scale model that is the centerpiece of my model collection.

[@Gullwingman]

That 1/12 must be awesome!!!

[@anthonycaballero2636]

Makes me appreciate my 03 CLK 55 lol not as rare as the gtr but still pretty cool

[@SamsaraBlue]

Don’t give up on this channel, it’s fantastic!

[@rudolfvanderven]

The nr. 6 CLR is permanently on display at the Nationales Automuseum - I happened to do a photoshoot with it yesterday. :-) Great vid!

[@cashiusclay_]

Brilliant video mate, I remember being 17 and being amazed by the CLK's, man I miss the good 'ol days!!!

[@gusb6502]

Awesome video. I have been looking for a long time for a video like this

[@Gullwingman]

And here it is 😉 Thank you GB 😁🙌

[@konstantinosmichos5749]

Very descent and excellent job of making this video. Bravo! A sure subscribe!

[@EVILSPAWN1003]

The McLaren F1 GTR will always be boss for me as a 1990`s boy/young man in my 20`s.

[@Etervi0n]

Great video, didn't expect to watch it fully but it was well paced and properly designed.

[@michaelsummerell8618]

Really well presented and informative video! Many thanks - you have a new subscriber!

[@linasmarcinkevicius]

Thank you! 😊💜🌟 I hope Mercedes-Benz will come back to race to Lemans 24h! 🏎️

[@rileyberkowitz]

You should do an episode about the Lancia Stratos and all its versions! It's my dream car

[@weeevilswine]

Incredibly interesting video, surely your channel will blow up

[@money-fast]

Great Video man - enjoyed every second, so much input 💪🏼

[@pierreb4395]

Just earned yourself a new subscriber! Keep up the good work, very nice research job 🏎

[@drewdavenport3833]

It's kinda funny and cool at the same time seeing so many people who first learned learned of this car through video games. I bought the 1:18 scale model 20'ish years ago and also remember seeing one for sale in AutoWeek for $1million many years ago. It wasn't there the following week.

[@swarajpatra7672]

Great Video buddy !

[@martacudeiro454]

Legendary. Fantastic vid, please keep creating content!!

[@Tristaneus]

First time I watched one of your videos. Thank you Sir for taking the time to research and make this. Cheers!

[@agnidas5816]

Such a cool looking car. I am amazed I have never seen the CLK version with red side mirrors since the car came out and was all the rage. Such a cool stylistic choice.. THank you for this video !

[@chrisj5097]

I remember watching that live when I was a kid. Cool vid buddy👏

[@lakerfan82k3]

This was very well presented. Subscribed!

[@OugaBoogaShockwave]

Loved this, Very good. 1 of my fav cars in racing games between late 90's & almost mid 2000's

[@gregormager6697]

Ein super Video haben Sie gemacht. und immer schön "ruhig beiben ". sehr informativ. danke

[@justinhornback1248]

I always wondered what would have been after the CLR had the wheel-well cutouts been a thing already.

[@Gullwingman]

Would certainly have helped to reduce lift at the front axle!

[@masashiiino6914]

or giving it a bit of a pitch angle too

[@rinirax]

Great video. I really like your way of presenting with the cuts back to you when you want to emphasize something. Also that must have taken a lot of research so thank you.

[@YoureWierdImN0t]

I don't remember when/where/what I was doing when I first saw a CLK GTR but for certainly I never once fogotten about the CLK GTR. I still think its one of the best looking race cars/homologated cars.

[@apexvisiontv]

Definitely one of my favorite eras of sports cars! Great video 🔥🔥

[@satelliteface7]

Excellent video, well researched and presented. Keep up the good work and looking forward to more great content.

[@michaeloakes3667]

Great production you've made here mate! Good work :D

[@andidess3266]

What was exquisite! I need more videos like this! Awesome information.

[@jvh777]

Wow what an awesome video, no sarcasm. Very well done. Thank you.

[@Gullwingman]

Thank you so much!!!

[@yassinemoumene9595]

Super video man , story well summarized ! liked and subscribed !

[@Gullwingman]

Thanks a lot, Yassine! There's more coming very soon 😁

[@018139548]

Very informative and a well put together video. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@predrag1]

CLR....my god what a beautiful wild beast

[@lknanml]

Well made. Thanks!

[@daelguyomard615]

Perfect video 👍🏼 even if i already knew all the story 😁

[@Gullwingman]

Even better when an expert says that 😁👍

[@roadhouseguy]

Loved this video. My favourite Hypercars of the era without a doubt. At least all is not lost and the 7,3 V12 lives on in the very befitting Paganis.

[@Lukec4ge]

Excellent video. Thanks for sharing.

[@gewurztraminer]

Brilliant video. I really enjoyed it. Thanks a lot!

[@aadisamaroo3074]

Watched the whole thing man great video, i also didnt know 3 cars flipped i thought it was 1

[@dxb1]

Hey man , i really like this video proper story telling , very informative. Keep up the great work , this material is very hard to find as it is not mainstream ,

[@aleksandarminic5059]

Thank you for this great Programme!

[@danbirkemeier7327]

Great video! I love how you put the whole history of these cars together. While the sad end for these cars was bad, I would put forth that the Mercedes Lemans crash of 1955 might be the worst point in the marks racing history. thanks for the great video!

[@Gullwingman]

No doubt about that!

[@wroomwroomboy123]

A think that sucks about the CLR is that is only remembered for its accidents. Based on early race stats, it also looked like they had designed the perfect engine. Their cars were only 2-3 seconds slower than the V12 cars in qualifying, in race pace they were pretty equal. They used a low rev, great engine displacement V8 - high torque setup. Plus an atypical piston rhythm thingy that I can not remember the name off, but it usually offsets the peak BHP at lower revs than a traditional piston setup. It's like they designed a supersized go kart, that only raced on tracks were you never get top speeds. Yet their aero allowed them to produce near competitive lap times and were consume vastly less fuel than the competitors. In the long run it looks very possible for them to have won the entire thing entirely on using the pits less than the rest. Also the look and sound of it is immeasurable.

[@JelyFishTN]

Hey bro, nice video! the mic quality was a bit annoying though, very echoy.

[@damonroberts7531]

Funny coincidence I stumble across this video after racing in one on Forza Motorsport 7, I'm glad so many games feature this monster

[@DreamDiecastCars]

Really well done video, I never knew all the history behind those cars!

[@Gullwingman]

Thank you! Now you know ;)

[@Tom_Hadler]

Thanks man this video was interesting and really well presented

[@elliotcutliff7779]

Considering your quite engaging video, a history of the XJ220 would be awesome. I have read you just need the time, take all the time you need. I'll be waiting patiently.

[@rollotomassi8251]

Quality content. Thank you. I did not know the car flipped 3 seperate times. I watched it on Eurosport when it happened..

[@martbeth5490]

Excellent account of an intriguing story. Well done.

[@FarisMiz]

Love your content. The stories are interesting and its in chronological order. This is indeed one of my fav car and now i have more infos about it. Thanks.

[@vwsambabus]

wow what a nice informative video! keep up the great work!

[@pezzrod]

Fantastic video! You have some good technical clips but all I want is an exploded or see through diagram of where all the vents go on the street version! Lol lmk if you got one!

[@Gullwingman]

Haha, I was thinking about doing a video just about all the air in and outlets to explain all the ducts and coolers. Maybe one day... :)

[@pezzrod]

@@Gullwingman please do! I’ll contribute about 10,000 of the views lol. Also details on dimensions and where and how the fuel tank works... there really isn’t much technical info... well in america at least.

[@TheJGJR9]

mercedes has a knack at getting so good the sport takes damage😂

[@jauzaafaishalahmadpadmadis3846]

what the hell is this? only 700 views?

[@LudusArtifex]

8'821 not much better . . . . . . WHY SO LOW? it is realy interesting!

[@Ditypo]

woah what an excellent video dude