CLK 500

STORY

The CLK-Class (Coupé Leicht Kurz) was Mercedes-Benz's mid-size two-door line launched in 1997, slotting between the C- and E-Class and pairing C-Class underpinnings with E-Class-inspired four-round-headlamp styling. Two generations were built: the C208 (1997-2003), offered as coupe and cabriolet with engines from the supercharged CLK 230 Kompressor up to the CLK 55 AMG, and the larger C209 (2002-2009), which peaked with the 6.2-litre CLK 63 AMG. The nameplate carried outsized motorsport and halo significance: the CLK GTR won the 1997 FIA GT Championship and spawned a road-going hypercar, while the road-legal CLK DTM AMG (limited to roughly 100 coupes plus cabriolets) homologated AMG's DTM effort. The CLK 63 AMG Black Series further cemented the car's performance credentials. Production ended in 2009, with the two-door role passing to the new E-Class Coupé. Clean examples, especially AMG and DTM variants, are now sought-after modern classics.