[Disclaimer: This piece was written by Lauri Ahtiainen, of recent Motoring Con Brio fame. He drives a red Miata and a bunch of Peugeot 406:s. -Antti]
As black four door Mercs with inline four engines go, this one is pretty special. Sitting in a parking garage between a white Jetta and a grey Toyota Avensis wagon, I probably wouldn’t have spotted it without that rear wing. Oh yes, that rear spoiler. There is only one reason how such an outrageous device was fitted onto the boot of the 190E: because racecar.
One of only 502 examples made, this pristine-looking homologation special had only one reason to exist, and it was a tough one: to beat the E30 M3 in the DTM, the national touring car championship of Germany.
Following the cool, yet tame looking Cosworth-engined 2.3-16, 2.5-16 and Evo I, the Evo II was the one where Mercedes ditched everything conservative and let the engineers work with aerodynamics. Rumor says the panel blocking the upper part of the rear window is there to hide the rear spoiler from the rear view mirror, as regulations said the spoiler shall not be seen from the inside. I bet some engineer at Mercedes had a laugh when he realized the spoiler could go above the actual window, instead of staying below it…
Maybe it’s just a rumor, but it makes for a pretty cool story.
The 2.5 16V engine produces a healthy 235hp at 7200rpm. Not bad for the period, but quite far away from the racing versions making close to 400hp and revving up to 10,000rpm. The wheels on this example have been changed from the original six spoke items to OZ Racing Ultraleggeras, which might indicate the car might spend some time on a track too.
The interior itself is the total opposite of the exterior: it looks just as comfortable as any other top spec 190E.
Were the Evo II an aftermarket conversion, I would say the bodykit is really bad. It is way overdone, and especially the rear overfenders and the rear wing indeed look absurd. Yet the single fact that all the changes are functional and factory-made to beat the BMW M3 makes everything more than acceptable – it makes the Evo II one of the coolest sedan Mercedes’ ever.
[Photos: Lauri Ahtiainen]
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