Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evo

Mercedes 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution at a glance

Background: the 16-valve 190

The W201 was Mercedes' compact saloon of the 1980s, sold as the "190". To race it in touring car series the company needed a fast road version. Mercedes announced the 190 E 2.3-16 in Frankfurt in September 1983, and series production started in autumn 1984. Its four-valve cylinder head came from Cosworth, which cast it at its Coscast foundry in Worcester, England. The 2.3-litre engine made 136 kW (185 PS), and the car reached 230 km/h. A limited-slip differential was standard. Cars for the United States had a catalytic converter and 125 kW. Most were painted Blue-Black metallic or Smoke Silver.

Before the launch, in August 1983, three lightly modified cars ran 50,000 km at Nardo in Italy at an average of 247.94 km/h and set twelve international endurance records. In 1984 Ayrton Senna won a race of champions at the Nürburgring in an identical 190 E 2.3-16. Mercedes built 19,487 of the 2.3-16.

The 2.5-16 replaced it from 1988. With a catalytic converter its 2.5-litre engine gave 143 kW (195 PS); without one, 150 kW (204 PS). Mercedes built 5,743 of them. On track it raced against the BMW M3 and the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth.

Evolution (1989): a shorter stroke for higher revs

The first Evolution made its debut at Geneva in March 1989. To comply with the DTM homologation rules, Mercedes built 502 between March and May 1989. The engine kept roughly the same capacity, 2,463 cc, but used a bigger bore and a shorter stroke. This allowed a higher rev limit.

In standard form the road car had the same 143 kW as the catalysed 2.5-16. Buyers who ordered the PowerPack, a DM 18,000 option, got 165 kW (225 PS) and 245 km/h. Visually the Evolution added wider wheel arches and a new rear spoiler. Its suspension could be adjusted from inside the car. According to Wikipedia DE, all 502 cars were finished in blue-black metallic. Officially the Evolution kept the type code 201.035 of the regular 2.5-16, while the Evolution II received its own code, 201.036.

Evolution II (1990): the big wing

The Evolution II appeared at the Geneva show in March 1990. All 502 cars were sold before the public unveiling. The engine received another update and now delivered 173 kW (235 PS) at 7,200 rpm and 245 Nm at 5,000 rpm. That is 30 kW more than the standard Evolution, or about 21 percent.

The body kit was the work of Professor Richard Eppler, an aerodynamicist at the University of Stuttgart. Its most visible part was a large rear wing. Even so, the drag coefficient fell to 0.29, against 0.32 for the earlier 16-valve body kit, while downforce increased. Five hundred cars were painted blue-black metallic, and numbers 501 and 502 were finished in Astral Silver. The price was DM 136,720 in 1990, about €69,900 at the fixed conversion rate.

DTM racing and the 1992 title

AMG prepared the racing Evolution II. According to the German Wikipedia, its 2.5-litre engine produced about 272 kW (370 PS) at 9,500 rpm. The car weighed 980 kg ready to race and reached 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds. It used a six-speed straight-cut gearbox and a mechanical limited-slip differential.

The 1992 season was its best. The Evo II won 16 of the 24 DTM races and filled the first three places in the final standings, with works driver Klaus Ludwig as champion. According to Wikipedia DE, no car had scored more wins, points, pole positions or fastest laps in a single DTM season up to that time.

Evolution I and II compared

Measured per litre, the Evolution II engine was about 23 percent more productive than that of the regular 2.5-16. Our power converter translates these outputs into hp.

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