When the Mercedes-Benz 190E arrived on the scene in the early 1980s, the notion of such a small car from the house of the Three Pointed Star seemed far fetched. Even more so was when the Cosworth-tuned 190E 2.3-16 debuted. Here was a car that was originally designed for rallying but wound up competing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series, equipped with a twin cam four cylinder engine, available 5-speed manual gearbox with dog leg first gear and a full on bodykit. Quite un-Mercedes like.
The US market would see the 190E 2.3-16 for just a few years, but the evolution of the breed would continue on in Europe right up to the end of the production run, with a 2.5 liter engine and Evolution models. This 190E 2.5-16 Evo for sale in The Netherlands was brought to our attention by our reader Walker and is now legal to import to the US. Just over 500 were produced to comply with DTM homologation regulations, with and engine that revved higher and had improved top end power. While not as aggressive as the Evo 2 that would follow up this act, those who know about these special 190Es will recognize this car’s awesomeness in an instant.