Our only-in-L.A. file got a little fatter in June when a Los Angeles exotic-car dealer sued DaimlerChrysler, Mercedes-Benz USA, tuner AMG, and AMG’s race shop, HWA GmbH, over a $1.7 million CLK-GTR roadster the dealer says traveled just 10 blocks—hey, nothing lasts forever—before losing oil pressure and expiring. No word on why Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy weren’t included in the lawsuit.
One of just five CLK-GTR roadsters ever built, the 612-hp, 6.9-liter V-12 two-seater was purchased in 2003 by Mark Johnston of Grand Prix Motors in Los Angeles and imported into this country under the federal show-and-display waiver that allows low-production special-interest cars into the U.S. for limited street use. Johnston says the car had just eight kilometers on the odo when he received it and only 12 when the oil-pressure light flickered on and the hydraulically shifted gearbox quit working while Johnston was demonstrating the car to a potential buyer. He shut it off, and the car remained parked for more than two years while he began wrangling with the factory over liability.
Johnston says a technician came from HWA, the division of AMG that built 20 CLK-GTR coupes and, later, five roadsters as part of a homologation program for the 1997–98 FIA GT racing season. The techie inspected the car, removed some parts, returned to Germany, and reputedly was never heard from again, Johnston says. Calling the CLK-GTR “the mother of all lemons,” Johnston called a press conference to announce his lawsuit.
Mercedes-Benz USA says it had nothing to do with the sale and isn’t involved. HWA says it offered to fix the car, which it claims was monkeyed with by a third party in an effort to federalize it for full street use, and that Johnston refused the help. Johnson denies the claim. The suit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Copyrights
Aaron Robinson. L.A. Dealer Sues Over $1.7 Million Blown Benz. Copyright 2006 Car and Driver.
