For Techno Classica, Mercedes-Benz brought out a one-off convertible version of their modern classic 190E. The 2.6-litre car is the only one with factory backing, and it does look quite balanced.
The two-tone blue suits the car exceptionally well, and it was built around the time the 190E had its “MoPf” facelift, meaning it has the wide plastic cladding on the sides.



Inside, there’s acres of blue ruffled leather, and an automatic gearbox suits this tourer car as well as the Becker stereo.


Top down, it does look better than top up, and one must wonder just how much work the custom bodywork took, as there was no coupe version to use. Mercedes ended up building a W124 cabriolet instead, as the upper segment was seen more lucrative and the coupe did offer some synergy benefits.



There was, of course, small-scale cabriolet production by tuner garages for the 190E, but that’s never quite the same level as an official factory product – in good or bad.

Here the Mercedes convertible sits, as it’s today. The cladding looks as wavy as it does on every 500E or W140, so I wouldn’t worry too much of the attention to detail.