Jeremy Clarkson once owned a Mercedes-AMG that's so rare most people forgot it ever existed

Jeremy Clarkson still maintains that one of his favorite cars is a long-forgotten Mercedes-Benz that most people forgot about, the CLK 63 AMG Black.

Clarkson used to own a CLK Black back in the Top Gear days, but the car doesn’t really exist anymore.

It was discontinued, and never replaced.

But there’s a very obvious reason for that.

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Why the CLK Black doesn’t exist anymore

Back in the late 2000s, Jeremy Clarkson bought a brand-new Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG Black.

Based on the CLK 63, which was already pretty fast, the Black was an even more extreme variant with bucket seats at the front and no rear seats, a larger diffuser, and more power.

The 6.2-liter V8 in the CLK Black produced 500hp, while the standard model made 474hp.

Historically, nearly all AMG models are limited to 250km/h (155mph), but this one wasn’t.

It had a top speed of 300km/h (186mph).

Only 500 were built, including 120 for right-hand drive markets.

At the time, it cost around $140,000 in the US, which, by today’s standards, isn’t even that crazy.

This was probably the most extreme CLK – other than the GTR – but today Mercedes no longer produces the CLK, and it doesn’t have any Black models available.

And the reason is quite obvious.

This car was the peak of the internal combustion era, and this era is sort of… ending.

Jeremy Clarkson has a relatively modest car collection

Jeremy Clarkson has a car collection that’s relatively modest considering his net worth.

He’s often talked about his approach to money in his columns for the Sunday Times, and he regularly mentions how much he doesn’t like spending cash.

His favorite car ever was the Lexus LFA, but he’s never owned one, even though he obviously can afford it.

He has owned a lot of Alfa Romeos, including some relatively rare ones, but those are hardly expensive to buy for a guy worth millions.

Clarkson, just like his co-stars James May and Richard Hammond, has also occasionally bought back cars that starred in episodes of Top Gear or The Grand Tour.

Although, to be fair, that’s a very rare occurrence.

Clarkson has bought hundreds of cars for the show, including the Alfa 75 that’s now for sale, and he’s only kept a handful of those.