Description
2003 MERCEDES-BENZ CLK500 V8 – KLEEMANN 50 K2
The Kleemann that technically shouldn’t exist.
Right. This one requires a little explaining.
At first glance, it’s a very clean dark blue CLK500. Lovely cream leather, pillarless windows, big Mercedes V8 up front. All very civilised.
Then you notice the Kleemann wheels.
Then the bumpers.
Then the steering wheel.
Then the exhaust.
Then the suspension.
Then the limited-slip differential.
And eventually you realise somebody has been behaving irresponsibly with a Kleemann parts catalogue.
Except they haven’t.
Because these aren’t replicas.
They’re the genuine parts from the original car.
The story goes back to the properly bonkers days of Mercedes tuning, when Kleemann were doing roughly what Brabus were doing, except apparently after drinking stronger coffee.
Kleemann created an extremely rare CLK55 Kleemann, based on the CLK55 AMG and supercharged to somewhere north of 600bhp. It was featured in a magazine in 2003 — and the original magazine featuring that very car comes with this one.
Unfortunately, that CLK55 was later crashed.
Fortunately, someone had the excellent idea of rescuing its genuine Kleemann components.
Those parts eventually found their way onto this 2003 CLK500 5. 0 V8, creating what I call the:
KLEEMANN 50 K2.
To be absolutely clear, this is not being advertised as the original Kleemann-built CLK55 and it isn't supercharged.
It is a one-off tribute built using the genuine period Kleemann components from that car.
And those components are now about as easy to find as an honest description saying “minor parking damage” on Facebook Marketplace.
It has the genuine Kleemann front and rear bumpers, side skirts/ sills, interior sill trims, carpets, badging and the fantastic thick-rimmed Kleemann steering wheel.
Then there are the genuine 19-inch Kleemann MS11 alloys, recently refurbished and wearing four brand-new Michelin Pilot tyres.
Underneath, things get even more interesting.
It has Kleemann springs and shock absorbers, upgraded AMG front and rear brakes and — importantly — a Kleemann limited-slip differential housed in an AMG casing with a different ratio.
Which means it doesn't just look different from a CLK500.
It actually drives differently.
The gearing feels different, the LSD changes the way it puts the V8's power down, the suspension tightens everything up, and that enormous Kleemann steering wheel makes you feel as though you're operating something considerably more serious than a comfortable Mercedes coupé.
And then there's the Kleemann exhaust.
Deep, bassy and properly V8 without sounding like someone attacked the silencers with an angle grinder at 11pm.
Now we need to discuss the elephant in the room.
169, 000 miles.
There. I said it.
Nobody died.
Because while the odometer has been busy, so has the maintenance department.
There are approximately £15, 000 of Mercedes-Benz receipts from the last few years alone, including major engine work, timing-chain work and substantial rebuilding and mechanical maintenance.
It has been fully serviced, recently passed its MOT including emissions, and drives astonishingly tightly for the mileage.
The 5. 0-litre naturally aspirated V8 is beautifully smooth and sounds exactly like a large Mercedes V8 should: expensive, slightly antisocial and completely unnecessary.
Which is precisely why we like it.
Specification is excellent too: full leather, electric heated memory seats, electric steering column, electric glass sunroof, BOSE, factory sat-nav, front and rear parking sensors, ice-cold air conditioning, electric windows and mirrors, cruise control, folding rear seats, seat-belt presenters, remote central locking, two keys, original books/ manuals and a substantial history file.
The Kleemann steering wheel also has paddle shifters fitted. These currently require programming using Mercedes STAR or equivalent equipment.
The private registration CAB 22S is NOT included and will be retained. The car will return to its original registration:
KG53 PJY
So, who buys this?
Probably not somebody comparing it with seventeen other CLK500s and asking whether you'll take £3, 500 tonight because they're “coming from far”.
This is for somebody who knows what Kleemann meant in the early 2000s.
Someone who understands that genuine period tuning parts like these don't grow on trees — mainly because the tree was crashed twenty-odd years ago.
It has mileage.
It has history.
It has provenance.
It has a magnificent V8.
And it has a collection of genuine Kleemann hardware that would be extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible, to assemble again today.
Is it sensible?
Absolutely not.
But then neither was taking a perfectly respectable Mercedes and giving it a supercharger, an LSD and 600+ horsepower in the first place.
And thank God somebody did.
