If you're looking for something rare and very expensive, there are loads of options out there, from a Bugatti EB110 SS to a BMW-Glas V8. But neither the exceptional Bugatti nor the obscure Bimmer is as special or as expensive as the car we have here today. This is a 1998 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLK GTR Strassenversion (street version), and it's one of just 26 ever produced (a single roadster was built).
When it launched, it was the most expensive production car ever built with a price of $1,547,620. That's pocket change these days, but back in 2016 one of these sold for $2.6 million. But even that is a low price now, as the model you see below is heading to Pebble Beach Auctions where it could sell for as much as $10 million.
Under the massive rear cover is a 6.9-liter naturally aspirated V12 producing 604 horsepower, all of which goes to the rear wheels via a six-speed Xtrac sequential transmission. It has independent wishbone suspension with coilover shock absorbers at each corner. Ventilated ceramic composite brakes bring the beast to a stop.
The one you're looking at here is pretty much perfect and is listed as "exceptionally original", coming with all service records and period accessories. With just 1,442 kilometers on the clock (896 miles), chassis No. 9 is practically new, which is why Gooding & Co., the company listing this fine specimen, estimates that it will fetch between $8.5 million and $10 million.
If those sums sound like chump change to you, the car is lot 50 at the Pebble Beach auctions. The auction event takes place on the 14th and 15th of August 2021, where it will vie for the attention of buyers alongside other spectacular vehicles like a Ferrari F40, a Porsche 969 Turbo, a Lamborghini Miura, and a McLaren F1. If you'd like to stick with a Merc, a 1956 300 SL Gullwing is also on offer. The CLK GTR seems to be the priciest of the cars that will be sold at the event, so if you can afford it, you could just as easily buy a plethora of classics and exotics and still have cash for a Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series as a daily.