 The Mercedes @-@ Benz CLR was a set of racing cars developed for Mercedes @-@ Benz through a collaboration with in @-@ house tuning division Mercedes @-@ AMG and motorsports specialists HWA GmbH . Designed to meet Le Mans Grand Touring Prototype ( LMGTP ) regulations , the CLRs were intended to compete in sports car events during 1999 , most notably at the 24 Hours of Le Mans which Mercedes had last won in 1989 . It was the third in a series of sports cars raced by Mercedes , following the CLK GTRs and CLK LMs that had debuted in 1997 and 1998 respectively . Like its predecessors the CLR retained elements of Mercedes @-@ Benz 's production cars , including a V8 engine loosely based on a design used in some models as well as bodywork based on the CLK and CL @-@ Classes . The CLR 's bodywork was lower in overall height than that used on the CLKs to produce less drag . 
