2023 Heveningham Concours: title-winning Mercedes CLK LM takes the stage

To celebrate 100 years since the first 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Heveningham Concours will host two celebrated racing machines in 2023: the Mercedes CLK LM and Porsche 911 GT1 Evo. The pair of sports cars will go on display alongside a host of other vintage machines with Le Mans-ties when gates open in July.

Held at Heveningham Hall in the west of England, the concours will also stage timed drag runs on the driveway of the estate – past competitors have included the mighty 1970 Ferrari 512 S and modern-day speed freaks like the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+.

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This year’s show stars, however, are the two 1990s Le Mans icons. The 1998 CLK LM - not to be mistaken for the CLR which backflipped down the Mulsanne straight a year later - was tailored specifically for the sweeping high speed corners of La Sarthe, with its signature low nose and extended overhangs. 

Mercedes grafted the design of the CLK road car onto the front of the racer to almost comedic effect, but there’s no debating the LM’s competition prowess. Powered by a 5.0-litre V8 developing around 600bhp, the CLK LM was an unstoppable force in the FIA GT Championship, taking victory at all ten rounds. A DNF at Le Mans is the only blot on the Merc’s copybook. 

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Like the Mercedes, the Porsche 911 GT1 was stretched and contorted for maximum aero performance, with the Heveningham-bound Evo version wearing the 996’s teardrop-shaped headlights. Chassis GT1-004 was part of the Porsche works team in 1997, competing at both Le Mans and the FIA GT Championship. With a twin-turbocharged 3.2-litre flat six in the middle, the Evo gained a wider track and reworked aero to move up the competitive order.

Tickets to the Heveningham Concours will go on sale next month, with the event taking place across the 8th and 9th of July – a week before the Goodwood Festival of Speed begins.