The Mercedes-Benz CLK hit the market in 1997 as a mid-size luxury coupe and convertible and remained in production until 2010. Although more than a decade has passed since the last unit rolled off the assembly line, it seems that some still have a weakness for it.
Mercedes-Benz derived the first generation of the Mercedes-Benz CLK from the W202 C-Class that had been on the market for three years already, but also using components from the E-Class.
The model, with the W208 codename for the Cabriolet and C208 codename for the Coupe, was introducing a new niche. It came to fight the opponents such as the BMW 3 Series Coupe and the Audi A Cabriolet.
In 2010, Mercedes-Benz decided to move the CLK designation back to the E-Class. Therefore the CLK letters completely vanished from the range. But not from the imagination of digital artists, who still dream of a revival of the range with no “E” in the name.
The Mercedes-Benz CLK of the future – electric or not?
A Swiss artist behind the 3D_im.blend Instagram account digitally built the CLK of the future. The model sports a front end that finds inspiration in Mercedes’ EQ electric range. The hood though features a shape that is pretty much a hint that there is a combustion engine right beneath it. A sloping roofline, an angled rear window and a floating tailgate make up the daring design. At the rear, two tailpipes show up, confirming that yes, the pixel CLK is indeed a car with a conventional propulsion.
The digital artist also posted his take on the track-focused variant, Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR. The source of inspiration was a V12 mid-egined race car that the company developed for the 1997 FIA GT Championship. For the homologation of the race car, Mercedes had to build street-legal cars as well. Therefore, 25 of those saw the light of day from the winter of 1998 to the summer of 1999.
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