The 190E 2.3-16 is one of the most sporting Mercedes-Benzes ever made. Its story dates back to the arrival of the standard 190E, a new small Mercedes that was introduced to help the marque meet emerging fuel economy standards while preserving the traditional Mercedes qualities of world-class engineering, technical innovation, quality, and durability. The Mercedes Board of Directors insisted that the new small car meet S-Class standards of ride comfort, roadholding, refinement, and long-distance touring abilities and so, despite its compact dimensions, the 190E was a superb automobile, even in its most leisurely diesel-powered naturally-aspirated form.
Mercedes initially intended to race the car in Group B, but seeing Audi’s success with the Quattro, it was clear that four wheel drive would be necessary to be competitive. So one of the engines developed for the car, a four valve version of the standard M102 4 cylinder developed by Cosworth was adapted for street use and placed in a new performance version of the 190E. Called the 2.3-16, the car had a host of other performance improvements including upgraded suspension, wider, flush alloy wheels, a body kit which reduced lift by 40% at speed, Recaro seats, supplemental instrumentation, limited slip differential, a 5-speed close-ratio dogleg gearbox.
It was among the fastest sedans in the world and promptly debuted on the race track where it participated in a 201 hour endurance run in which three lightly modified examples circulated the high speed track at Nardo in Italy at an average speed exceeding 150 mph including fuel and maintenance stops and driver changes. The run took place in August of 1983, a month before the car’s public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show and the cars set records for 25,000km, 25,000 miles, and 50,000km.
The following May, the new F1 circuit at the Nurburgring opened, and to break in the track and highlight the new Mercedes sport sedan, a race of champions took place. 20 lightly modified 2.3-16s were piloted by some of the greatest racing drivers of all time, all of whom were contemporary Formula 1 race winners, former F1 champions, or Nurburgring winners. All but five of the living F1 champions participated and the entry list was epic: Stirling Moss, Nikki Lauda, Jack Brabham, Hans Herrmann, Phil Hill, John Surtees, Denny Hulme, Jody Scheckter, and Alain Prost to name a few. Emerson Fittipaldi was in America preparing for the Indy 500 so his car was taken over by a young relatively unknown Aryton Senna, who had only four F1 races under his belt, none of which he had won. He qualified third and pushed pole-sitter Alain Prost off on the first lap, presaging the rivalry between the two that was to become legendary. Senna took the lead on the first lap and would keep it for the rest of the race. Nikki Lauda had missed qualifying due to a commitment to appear on TV and pushed his way up from 14th to second. Senna’s victory raised his profile considerably; John Surtees urged his old boss Enzo Ferrari to hire Senna to drive for Ferrari, although this was of course never to be.
Once the 5000th example had been built in the spring of 1985, the 2.3-16 was homologated to race and privateers began preparing and racing them in DTM, showing the cars to be quite competitive although without Mercedes factory support, they won routinely but didn’t dominate. BMW’s response to the 2.3-16, the E30 M3, started racing in 1987, which it did with factory support, and won the championship straight away. Because of this humiliation, Mercedes finally relented in December of 1987 and lifted their Motorsport ban. Eventually the 190E did win a hard fought DTM championship, with Klaus Ludwig driving an AMG prepared car in 1992.
This particular example is an early production car, which was sold new in Monaco and then imported to Italy shortly thereafter, as confirmed by included documentation. It was owned by a couple who had two of them and was purchased from the concessionaire Trivellato, which is a dealer group in Vicenza, Italy. The husband sold his car but when his wife died, he retained her car for many years for sentimental reasons. The car fell into disuse and was purchased by a dealer who recommissioned the car in 2021-2022. Work included renewing the fuel system (restoring the fuel tank, new fuel pump and fuel filter), new spark plugs and spark plug leads, and some new hydraulics for clutch and brakes, new brake pads and rotors. The car was also resprayed at this time.
The car was purchased by an American visiting Italy named Derek Tam-Scott in May 2022, at which time the car showed 136,069 kilometers. He had further recommissioning work performed before taking the car on a driving trip through the Swiss Alps and Dolomites in September 2022. The additional recommissioning work included refinishing the wheels, fitting new tires, rebuilding all four brake calipers, and replacing the master cylinder for the braking system. This work was done by Premoli in Brescia, Italy between May (arrived 28 May) and September 2022 at a cost of €4175.
After the driving trip in September 2022, Alex Bianco (owner of Auto Bianco) in Seon, Switzerland, performed the following work at 138,678 kilometers: repair serpentine belt tensioner, replace brake booster and brake fluid, replace radiator hose, check and adjust fuel injection, change engine oil and spark plugs, renew ABS pump and relay, and headlight switch. In May 2023, Tam-Scott used the car on a road trip in Switzerland, driving from Zurich to Ascona and back via the Lukmanier Pass and San Gottardo tunnel.
In Fall 2023, the car left Italy and was imported to the US, arriving in January 2024. It was collected at the Port of Oakland in California on 17 January 2024. The car has since received a new fuel accumulator and a new stereo system with vintage style Blaupunkt head unit and new speakers. Included with the car are tools, books [CONFIRM], and extensive documentation and photos.
