1985 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 Sedan

Description

The Mercedes-Benz W201 was the company's first compact class model known as the 190 series and was sold between 1982 and 1993.  Designed by Bruno Sacco, head of styling at Mercedes from 1975 to 1999, the W201 was manufactured in both Bremen and Sindelfingen, Germany, and production reached 1,879,629 over its 11-year model life.  At the 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show Mercedes launched a performance variant originally developed for a world rally program – the arrival of the all-conquering Audi Quattro at the same time making the new Benz uncompetitive – so attention then switched to Germany’s Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) series instead.  With rules requiring DTM racecars to be based on production models, the 190E 2.3-16 was born. British engine development gurus Cosworth was brought in to tweak the engine, the heart of the new model in every way, and with it came a Getrag ‘dog leg’ five-speed gearbox, alloy wheels, a larger fuel tank, faster steering ratio, an enhanced braking package, tweaked, lower suspension and a limited-slip differential.  The Mercedes Benz 190E 2.3-16 also got a subtle bodykit to enhance aerodynamics, while sports seats and extra instrumentation completed the package, which was only available in two colours, Blue-Black and Smoke Silver.  Three examples set world records at the Nardo testing facility in Italy, recording a combined average speed of 247.94 km/h over the 50,000km endurance test and establishing no less than 12 international endurance records.