Just when you thought the early ‘90s German sport-sedan market peaked with E30 M3s commanding upwards of $200,000, the M3's arch rival, the Mercedes 190-Series 2.5-16V Evolution II, is up for sale with a price tag that trumps a brand new Ferrari.
Like the E30 M3, the 190-Series 2.5-16V Evolution II was built because Mercedes wanted a production based race car to compete on the DTM circuit. Homologation rules dictated that at least 500 road going examples be produced. According to the listing, this car is number 345 out of 500.
It even says so on the shifter.
Here is the full description:
The Evo II had numerous cosmetic and mechanical updates and changes including a radical and fully functional aerodynamics package, an in-car adjustable suspension, improved brakes, bigger 17-inch wheels, and a reworked Cosworth/AMG 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that produced an incredible 235 horsepower!
This particular Evo II is No. 345 of the 500 examples built. It is a pristine, single owner from new example with only 17,578 original kilometers (10,922 original miles.) Proper, low mileage, un-modified and un-raced road/homologation examples rarely come up for sale. This particular Evo II is regarded as one of the lowest mileage and finest surviving examples known to exist.
Please note that this vehicle is not California road legal. The vin shown is not the correct vin as eBay does not accept non US vehicle vin’s.
As to whether or not this is ultra-rare Mercedes is worth over a quarter-million dollars, to put it in perspective, the last one of these to hit the market had an asking price of $700,000.
I’m sure there’s some collector willing to pay the price to show it off at his or her local Cars and Coffee.