MERCEDES 190 EVO II For sale
Number 004 on only 500 built
Ex. Mercedes France press car until 2003
42 000km from new and highly iconic
Description
This sensational car is serial number 004/500, it was delivered new to Mercedes France for press purposes and registered 7343 WG 78. It was used for exhibitions and test drives, was notably subject to extensive articles in the famous magazines « Echappement » and « Auto Hebdo » in 1990. It also made an appearance at the presentation of the C32 AMG in 2002 in « Option ». Surprisingly the car remained in Mercedes France’s ownership until 2005 prior to being sold to its first « private » owner near Bordeaux with 28,000 km on the clock. It is remarkable that the car was sold with all of its internal notes and invoices when owned by Mercedes from 1990 to 2005. The Mercedes belonged then to a real car enthusiast who took great care of it and had it serviced at the same Mercedes dealership every year before he finally sold it to the current owner in 2012.
It has now covered 46,000 km and is in truly mint overall condition. It is not excessive to state that it has an incredible provenance and has one of the most comprehensive history files we have seen including every single service invoice back to 1990, a copy of the original Mercedes France registration, the original number plates and all the period magazines the car features in.
This 190 Evolution II, the 4th one built, is one of the most desirable examples and would satisfy the most demanding of collectors.
Model history
The Mercedes 190 was unveiled in 1983 and very soon in 1984 the impressive sports version was introduced, the 2.3 16V. Mercedes was keen then to conquer a new generation of customers via a more sporting and trendy image. It had an engine revisited by Cosworth with a superb 16 valve head which allowed 185 HP and was a superb looking and a fantastic handling car due to the all new « 5 link » rear suspension. The car was an immediate commercial success beating several world records for a production car and was even raced by Grand Prix drivers during « wild » races in 1984 on Saturday afternoons during GP week-ends. A certain young driver called « Senna » posting remarkable victories ! After a few attempts by Snobeck to turn them into Group A race cars, it was not before 1988 and AMG efforts in DTM that the subject became a serious matter for Mercedes. The Group A regulations on which the DTM ones were mostly based, were very simple. Mercedes was required to build 5000 examples in a year of a same car to get the homologation, then a limited edition of 500 cars was required to obtain a homologation extension.The aim was to beat the mighty BMW M3s which were terrific performers and to do so Mercedes homologated 500 cars called « Evolution » to make the DTM version quicker with a specific 2.5 liter engine and aero kit. Unfortunately BMW also homologated evolutions and in 1990 released the even more impressive « Sport EVO ».
Mercedes’ reaction in 1990 would create one of the most fantastic touring road cars ever. Indeed the « Evolution II » had a fantastic look with a proper race car body, an insane 235 HP engine reving up to 7700rpm, 4 pot caliper brakes ( a « première » for Mercedes ), ride height adjustable suspension and so on. Driving the EVO II is a great experience with a fantastic engine sound, great handling and a high speed stability hitherto unknown for a touring car. Aerodynamically the body kit works perfectly, with a surprising low drag ( 0.30 CX ) and very easily reaches its 248km/h top speed. The ultra iconic 190 Evolution II is one of the greatest touring cars built and probably the wildest Mercedes ever.