Chris Okula - Contributor
For cars to legally compete in certain racing series, rules dictate a company must sell road cars that match their racing entry. These homologation rules gave the world some of the greatest driver’s cars like the BMW M1 and CLK GTR to name a few. When Mercedes chose to enter their 190 sedan in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM), rules prompted them to release the Cosworth powered 190E 2.3-16, a sedan fitted with a detuned version of the touring car’s engine.
The 190E 2.3-16 competed directly with the M3 so when BMW introduced the M3 EVO 1, Mercedes needed a response. Mercedes’ counter came at the 1989 Geneva auto show with the unveiling of the 190E 2.5-16 Evolution, featuring a larger engine, improved brakes, self leveling rear suspension, and a huge rear-wing. All of these improves set out to make the 502 road going 190E 2.5-16 EVOs more potent on the track and faster on the streets. Today these sought after cars offer a glimpse into the heated world of DTM homologation specials, and the golden age of small german sedans. You can now buy one of the 502 legendary 190e 2.5-16 EVOs on the auction site Bring a Trailer.
The particular example for sale on Bring a Trailer offers an even rarer AMG performance pack which, adds hotter cams and a larger throttle body to raise engine output by 22 horsepower to 222 horsepower. The EVO 1 may have the same displacement as the normal 190e 2.5-16s but the EVO has a larger bore and shorter stroke to allow for greater revs and better top end power. All of these improvements from the legendary tuning houses of Cosworth and AMG make this an extremely special and capable car even by modern standards. Don’t miss your chance to own a piece of Mercedes Racing History.
(Source: Bring A Trailer)
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