A 2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR—one of just 28 total built—was just seized by the FBI as part of an investigation into one of the agency’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
The government organization said the car was detained as part of an investigation into a Canadian man named Ryan James Wedding, a 44-year-old alleged drug trafficker who was added to the agency’s Most Wanted list in March. The FBI said then that it was offering a $10 million reward for Wedding’s capture. That number increased to $15 million last week, when the Canadian was the subject of a new indictment that accused him of ordering the killing of a federal witness.
Authorities have previously said Wedding’s drug trafficking operation moved some 66 tons of cocaine a year, taking in upwards of $1 billion. He has also been described as Canada’s biggest distributor of the drug. In 2002, he represented the country as a snowboarder at the Salt Lake City Olympics.

FBI
The FBI did not say where the car was seized, or even if it was part of Wedding’s operation or the wider investigation, which has led to the indictments of “a Canadian criminal barrister, a reggaeton musician, a would-be gangland news website operator, and others.”
Wedding “controls one of the most prolific and violent drug-trafficking organizations in this world,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
Just 28 CLK GTRs were built, including 20 coupes, six roadsters, and two prototypes. The car seized is one of the ultra-rare roadsters and, on the open market, would likely fetch an eight-figure price, and possibly a record for the model. The FBI says it is valued at $13 million.

FBI
The CLK GTR is powered by a 6.0-liter V-12 making 612 horsepower. It was originally developed in the 1990s to race in the FIA GT Championship, and is thought of as a peer car to the legendary McLaren F1 and the Porsche 911 GT1.
The road-going versions were built to comply with racing regulations and were sold, brand new, for $2.6 million, making it the most expensive new car in the world at the time. The example seized by the FBI will likely be held in evidence until the case concludes, then auctioned to the highest bidder.
Authors
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Erik Shilling
Erik Shilling is digital auto editor at Robb Report. Before joining the magazine, he was an editor at Jalopnik, Atlas Obscura, and the New York Post, and a staff writer at several newspapers before…


