The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR was intended to enter in the 1997 FIA GT Championship sportscar racing world championship series, known as BPR Global GT Series up to 1996. To be allowed to do so, 25 cars had to be built for the GT1 class. Porsche 911 GT1, McLaren F1, Ferrari F40 and others were already competing there, Nissan R390 GT1 and Toyota GT-One joined in later, at the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans. As the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft/ITC had folded in late 1996, with both remaining competitors Opel and Alfa Romeo leaving due to the high costs of their 4WD designs, Mercedes had no top series to compete in. FIA gave a special permission to enter their new FIA GT championship in 1997 with a new sportscar even without the required 25 cars in existence yet. These had to be presented later, though.
