Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.
This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.
To wrap up the production of the W201 in 1993 and make way for the W202, Mercedes-Benz decided to give buyers a little extra something. That something was two ”Limited Edition” W201 variants. They comprised a 2.3 which was more of a luxury version and a 2.6 which was geared more towards sport. Both versions were limited to 700 cars each. The 2.6 didn’t come with any engine performance upgrades but did get different shocks, stiffer springs, roll bars, a quicker-ratio steering box, lower-profile tires and wider wheels borrowed from the S and SL. All the 2.6 cars were painted in black and the interior got some very non-conservative treatment with heavy use of red accents throughout.
They weren’t produced in big numbers, but we’ve seen a couple 1993 Mercedes-Benz 190E Limited Editions appear on GCFSB as of late, both in 2.3 and 2.6 form. This 190E 2.6 Limited Edition for sale in Florida has extremely low mileage and certainly appears as such. These 2.6 Limited Editions came equipped in black over black and red leather with carbon fibre trim, tighter suspension settings and sport seats. The carbon fibre trim has been replaced by wood trim in this example, which, in my opinion doesn’t really complement the more sporting look of the interior. It’s not terrible, mind you, but I would have preferred the stock look in this case. Given the small number of these 190Es built and the smaller number that still exist in good shape, you’ll want to look this example over a bit more closely.
The 1990s would bring about a shift in Mercedes-Benz naming language, but the year before the C class would arrive, the original baby Benz, the 190E, would have one last shout in the form of two Limited Edition models. The 190E 2.3 Limited Edition would be offered only in Emerald Green over parchment leather with burlwood trim. The 190E 2.6 Limited Edition, like the one we see here for sale in Missouri, was offered solely in black over black and red leather with carbon fibre trim. While the 2.3 Limited Edition was tuned more towards luxury, this 2.6 had a bit more aggression with the Sportline spec. On offer were tighter suspension settings and sport seats, among other features. This 190E 2.6 Limited Edition is especially attractive, having had one owner for many years with low mileage showing on the odometer.
Look closely and you might mistake these two Mercedes-Benz 190Es and you might mistake them for any other run of the mill W201. Dig a little deeper and you’ll notice they are sitting just a little bit lower on their haunches and a small badge on the lower front fender: Sportline. This was an option that added a tauter suspension and differing interior trim to the usual baby Benz package. While the 190E 2.3-16, 2.5-16 and Evo models carried the performance torch for the W201 lineup, the Sportline option gave buyers the ability to have something just a bit different than your run of the mill Mercedes sedan. First up, we have a 1990 190E 2.6 Sportline for sale south of Munich, Germany with just 53,000 miles on the clock.
The ex-Vlad 1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6 with plenty of modifications that we wrote up nearly two years ago has resurfaced for sale again. Offered by the buyer from last time around after covering only 3,000 miles, the asking price is close to what the seller paid. However, a few things of note – several items are no longer working, the bodywork is cracked and – most notably – the BBS RS wheels are an optional extra for $3,000. Has the W201 market appreciated 50% on a questionable example like this in a year and a half?
The below post originally appeared on our site in April, 2014:
