1999 Mercedes-Benz CLR #5
Pilots: C. Bouchut, N. Heidfeld, P. Dumbreck
Team: AMG-Mercedes
Race: DNF (1st in LMGTP class) at Le Mans in 1999
Spark - S0995 (resin)
Published 08/23/25
Mercedes’ relation to Le Mans is a bitter-sweet story. Well, more bitter than sweet, actually. They first raced there in 1930, and then again in 1931 and 1932, yet always as privateer efforts. After the nastiness of WWII, in 1951 Mercedes relaunched their racing program, to get back into F1 racing. Their first new race car was the 300 SL, and it was GOOD: first place at La Sarthe in 1952. And then, in 1955, history’s worst motorsports tragedy. After the disaster, Mercedes-Benz only returned to motorsports in general 30 years later. To Le Mans proper, they only came back in 1989, as a joint venture with Sauber. However, they came back with a vengeance, taking first and second places overall. In 1991 they returned, once again as Sauber-Mercedes, yet both cars DNF. With that, they dissolved their partnership with Sauber and gave up on Le Mans.
However, in 1994 FIA created the GT1 class, and it was a fever among the big manufacturers. By 1996, EVERYBODY got on the GT1 band wagon, from Porsche to McLaren to Toyota. Mercedes also seized the opportunity, with the CLK GTR, competing however only in the GT Championship. For the 1998 season they introduced the CLK LM, and enrolled two cars at Le Mans, as a factory effort. Unfortunately though, their effort was a total loss – both cars abandoned on the first hour. After that disaster, for the following year they came back eager to prove themselves. To complicate things, FIA (and ACO) banned GT1 cars, replacing the class with LMGTP. Consequently, Mercedes needed a brand-new car if they wanted to race in Le Mans in 1999. In September of 1998 they (AMG in fact) began working on the new car, called CLR.
One of the benefits of the new LMGTP class was that manufacturers didn’t need to make a road version of the car for homologation. Mercedes took full advantage of this, designing a purpose-built machine specifically for Le Mans. The new CLR used the same carbon fiber and aluminum honeycomb monocoque architecture of the CLK LM, yet lighter. In terms of suspension setup, the CLR inherited the same system from the CLK LM. The bodywork, however, was lower in height, with a lower and flatter nose than its predecessor. Nonetheless, the CLR had a shorter wheelbase and longer overhangs. The engine (GT108C) was a 5721 cm³ naturally-aspirated 32 valve V8, rated at 448 kW (600 hp). To transmit all that power to the ground, Mercedes used the same Xtrac 6-speed sequential from the CLK LM. All done, in February of 1999 the CLR was ready for track testing.
June of 1999 arrived and Mercedes showed up at La Sarthe with a three-car team, with high hopes. Nonetheless, things didn’t start well. During practice, CLR #4 flipped over (!) at the Indianapolis corner, going airborne (no one saw it). Mercedes scrambled to fix the issue, attaching dive plains to the front and stiffening the rear suspension. After the fix, CLR #4 went back to practice and flipped AGAIN! With the second accident, the team retired car #4, yet both CLR #5 and #6 lined up for the race. The situation seemed to be under control, until the 75th lap. CLR #5 was battling for second place when it reached the Indianapolis corner. It came out of the slipstream of the Toyota TS-020 in front and went airborne, this time on live television! Mercedes finally took a clue, and immediately retired the remaining CLR #6.
With that, Mercedes became the only manufacturer to fly during a Le Mans race 🤣. Not even Porsche ever managed that… Their GT1-98 only scored that feat in Road Atlanta, so Mercedes is the “Queen of the Sky” at La Sarthe 😂. Okay, maybe I’m being cruel, but come on, for a car to actually fly at Le Mans? Astonishing to say the least. Consequently, this model was a must buy for me (my first flying car). And in 143rd, as expected, Spark aimed for the sky. All right all right, I’m done now…
