You've Come a Long Way Baby Benz: the 190E Evolution Racer

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

Mercedes-Benz introduced the 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II at the 1990 Geneva Motor Show, as a motorsports extension of its 190E "Baby Benz." The car was the culmination of seven years of development with an eye toward turning the smallest of Mercs into a competitive sports sedan.

By 1987 the 190 E 2.3-16 had been entered both the French production car championships and the German Touring Car Championships (DTM). A year later, Daimler-Benz began officially supporting DTM teams. Speed wise, the Evo's stock specs appear paltry in comparison to the best of today's market (235 hp, zero to 60 in seven seconds), but tweaked out for competition, it ran with the best on the track, eventually whisking Klaus Ludwig to a DTM drivers title in 1992.

Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II [German Car Fans]

Related:
Thirty Years of BMW's 3 Series [internal]