This year marks a very special anniversary, just 30 years ago from the birth of the Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II. What was probably the most charismatic model of the brand at that time, has come to the present day as a real unicorn of these that already exceed six figures every time they go up for auction. We are going to do a little review of this saloon so radical that it continues to raise passions three decades later.
Its origins respond to the need to approve a vehicle for the DTM, the German touring car championship. It started from the base established by that Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3-16, launched in 1984 to achieve that end. As if that were not enough, in 1989 the 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution had arrived, which increased the displacement and power. Although the culmination of this 201-series would arrive at the 1990 Geneva Motor Show, when this copy was presented.
The Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II was easy to tell just by looking at its worked exterior. It had a widened body and much more aerodynamics. In the front there was a more prominent front splitter, the 17-inch wheels came directly from the DTM and in the rear appeared that huge rear wing that is its hallmark and that contributed to generating a greater downforce in the previous EVO I.
Another key was the four-cylinder, 2.5-liter, 16-valve engine. That block M 102 had a shorter stroke and a larger diameter to reach 235 hp and 246 Nm of torque. It should be noted that the cut was now at 7,700 rpm and that it could far exceed 300 hp to compete in the DTM. The homologated for street received good reviews immediately, because it was not a simple update of the model from which it started, but a total conversion with an outstanding dynamic behavior.
The suspension was one of its keys, with a reduction of 45 mm and a touch that allowed certain concessions to comfort, despite being a sports car. There was no lack of a Brembo braking system to be more governable. With its low weight of 1,360 kg it was capable of quite decent performance. It accelerated from 0 to 100 km / h in 7.1 seconds and its top speed was 250 km / h.
Hardly 502 units were made of this Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II, all of them curiously painted in that characteristic tone that mixes blue and black in a metallic finish.