Mercedes Introduces World's Fastest Convertible

Mercedes Introduces World's Fastest Open-Top Four-Seater
Posted by eMercedesBenz on September 14, 2005 at 9:15 PM CST

Growing up, one of my favorite movies was Back to the Future.  As a  
kid I remember watching it and thinking how cool it would be to have  
a car that could take you back in time.  Enter the CLK DTM AMG  
Cabriolet, a car so fast it can reverse the space-time continuum and  
send you hurtling back 30 years...  Ok, so maybe it's not that fast,  
but it's fast enough to make time stop - even if it's just for a few  
seconds while you feel yourself being propelled from 0-60 in what  
feels like the blink of an eye.

If you're not familiar with the CLK DTM AMG Cabriolet, it's a  
Mercedes based on Bernard Schneider's 2003 DTM Championship winning  
CLK, one of the German Touring Car Master's most successful cars.   
The wickedly fast four-seater is powered by a 582 horsepower AMG 5.5- 
Liter V8.  But this isn't your momma's AMG V8, oh no.  To achieve  
maximum performance Mercedes has specifically reengineered the AMG  
engine by modifying the crankcase, pistons, valve gear, cooling,  
intake manifold, supercharger and exhaust system.  On top of all  
this, Mercedes added an AMG Speedshift five-speed automatic  
transmission, which uses shift paddles on the steering wheels to  
provide extremely short shift times.  The result?  The evil little  
CLK accelerates 0-60 mph in 4.0 seconds and reaches a top speed of  
185 mph (electronically limited), making this the fastest open-top  
four-seater in the world.

But what fun is having a mind-numbingly fast CLK if it doesn't look  
the part?  Mercedes agrees, and as a result, the car features  
numerous elements not found on a standard CLK.  The most notable of  
course are the redesigned flared wheel arches.  On the exterior, the  
car also features 19 and 20 inch AMG alloy wheels, a new front apron  
with large air inlets, and a diffuser-look rear end with aerofoil.   
As for the interior, it also features various various race-inspired  
elements, including AMG sports bucket seats, an AMG sports steering  
wheel, and redesigned AMG instrument cluster.

Mercedes is only producing 100 CLK DTM AMG Cabriolet's, so if you're  
thinking about buying one, you better act quick, and have your  
checkbook ready.  Pricing is expected to be around $300,000.  But  
isn't having a car that can make time stop worth it?  I think so.

UPDATE:  When we brought you this story yesterday, Mercedes had not  
yet released official photographs of the new CLK DTM AMG Cabriolet.   
Today the official photographs have been released, and are the two  
exterior pictures you'll now find in this story.  We have also added  
interior pictures of the CLK DTM AMG Coupe, but the interior should  
remain the same or very similar in the Cabriolet version.

Read the full story with photos at www.eMercedesBenz.com