Videos provided by the seller include a walk-around, a Dyno pull, exhaust clips and various demonstrations.
After attempting to enter the W201 into rally events, Mercedes released a performance variant of the 190E using their Cosworth-developed 16-valve heads which helped to increase power by nearly 50 bhp. While this increase was welcomed, this example takes that ethos to the next level by employing both a turbocharger and supercharger in an effort to produce 350 whp. This figure is significantly closer to the claimed figures of the later 2.5-liter DTM race cars and with Genuine EVO II wheels and upgraded suspension, you’ll be hard pressed not to dust every E30 you drive by. While not a collector-grade example, this W201 looks very clean especially with the classic Blue-Black Metallic paint. For an enthusiast looking to drive something more unique, or an adrenaline junky looking for a fix, this modified 190E 2.3-16 sure will do the trick.
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Enclosed Transit:
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30 Comments
Your points are all well and good in the larger hot rod world but they don't necessarily translate in MB world. Good luck to you.
@BabyBenzFan you gave your 2 cents once, and I agreed with you and now you want to give it again after I give mine? Nice. I didn't have to sell the car since I have another 190, so I didn't have to "take the money and run" at a number well below what I have in the car. And in my 30 years of experience with modified vehicles, the right guys will pay up when they do the math on what has been done to it mods wise. Different strokes/different folks. Enjoy your period-correct, concourse w201s, and I'll enjoy my sacrilegious abominations ;)
@StrategicMetal. the extensive modifications are why you should've taken the high bid and run with it. Your car will never get the same amount of money that an unmodified car will bring. Just my 2 cents and more than 30 years of experience living in the W201 world.
@BabyBenzFan I agree with your point on the modification side of things. Especially on a homologation/specialty vehicle. But this is a great one to do it (high mileage/CarFax, but super-clean chassis) to if you want more oomph and something a little different. Appreciate the feedback.
@WaxhawFIve I was considering the plaid for sure. Didn't receive your msg, btw.
I think the high bid was a fair price for this particular car given all of the modifications and title issues. Originality is key in MB world. The OEM suspension that was removed is now NLA. Non MB modifying clearly lowered the value here.
Plaid and AC and this would have turned out differently. Email sent.
That got fun at the end! Appreciate all of the interest. And thanks to the MB Market crew for another well-run auction. Cheers!
$17,750 bid placed by @DaveH
$17,500 bid placed by @RVAE38
$17,250 bid placed by @Ecar7
$17,000 bid placed by @DaveH
$16,750 bid placed by @RVAE38
$16,500 bid placed by @DaveH
$16,250 bid placed by @RVAE38
$16,000 bid placed by @DaveH
$15,750 bid placed by @Ecar7
$15,500 bid placed by @DaveH
$15,250 bid placed by @RVAE38
$15,000 bid placed by @DaveH
$14,500 bid placed by @HTown18
$14,000 bid placed by @DaveH
$13,500 bid placed by @Carluch
$13,000 bid placed by @HTown18
$12,500 bid placed by @Carluch
$12,000 bid placed by @HTown18
$11,500 bid placed by @DaveH
@RVAE38 You commented on here earlier and I replied back, so you have my email.
@WaxhawFIve The belt-driven system has been forgone since it shares some real estate with the supercharger placement. The guy who built the car was going to do an electric-over-hydraulic setup IIRC. But for me, it's actually very maneuverable as-is. I don't know if that's because its a gearbox setup, or the somewhat narrow tire profile, but it's much easier to 3-point/turn at low speeds than a de-powered r&p, and the road feel is very good.
Can you email me at [email protected]? I have a few questions about the car.
Has power steering also been removed?
Hi All - just wanted to reach out and say thanks for all of the interest and engaging comments thus far. I'll be readily available until the auction ends so that I may assist with any last-minute questions you may have. cheers, and good luck!
@Joealcohol Yes it's all controlled by the ECU. So at roughly 30% throttle it will engage automatically. It also disengages automatically per manifold pressure (assuming to keep the boost from creeping past X RPM). As far as driving without the SC - it would be fine IMO (even though I never tried it) because the turbo is still making boost below the SC's current threshold. The SC is probably putting about 5 psi itself into the system, but that's not a direct 1:1 when something is twin-charged. I hope that helped!
How does the supercharger work? The previous owners description states that it's clutched and seems like it is activated and de-activated through the megasquirt. Is that the case and if so how does that work? Do you drive it typically with the supercharger engaged and if not how is the power without it?
$10,500 bid placed by @Carluch
@Drgelo I wasn't able to connect with the person who built it yet. I reached out a few days ago but no response yet. But someone on here messaged me directly and asked for more info on the build, so I compiled what, to the best of my knowledge, is done build-wise: - The suspension has, from what I can tell, every underside bushing replaced. It has been converted from active suspension to passive. It uses a Stagg brand spring/shock lowering kit, and it's roughly 3" lower than stock. It has a large front swaybar, and custom endlinks both front and rear. There is a custom made camber kit on it as well as a rear shock tower brace. I think I mentioned that it has genuine front/rear Evo II brake calipers and upgraded drilled rotors and stainless steel brake lines. I'm not sure of the brand/compound of the brake pad. The wheels are also genuine Evo II, and are 17 x 8/34" wide, wrapped in Essentially new 215/45 Toyo Proxes R1R. - The engine, from what i gathered has a higher compression piston in it (the vehicle made a significant amount of power N/A. Over 200whp), and just a basic refresh with some better gaskets and such to handle the increased loads (I have the balance of the gasket kit, which will come with the car). Nothing I know of is forged or anything, as the previous owner has the timing pretty conservative to keep it all happy. All of the additions to the engine are custom, and were made for this setup. The header is a one-off masterpiece out of stainless steel and has been ceramic coated. It's a long runner piece, that terminates in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 style flange. An Evolution turbo has been fitted up with the 10.5cm exhaust housing (also ceramic coated). The compressor (also ceramic coated)has been upgraded to a 20g size, which is pretty large. The downpipe is also a really nice piece, going from the Mitsubishi flange to a 3" round downpipe. The downpipe then goes to 2.5", and contains both a resonator and a muffler (sounds great). The entire exhaust has trick V-band clamps, so you could easily take out the resonator, switch out the muffler, etc. if you want a different tone. The turbo exists into what looks to me like a retro-fitted Mitsubishi Starion intercooler. Nicely fabbed aluminum intercooler piping also holds a large Tial 50mm blow off valve. From there is heads into an m62 Mercedes supercharger (so like the one from a 2.3L Kompressor car) which is clutched and turns on/off via the ECU. It then heads to a really nice stainless steel intake plenum and into custom mounted e30 M3 individual throttle bodies. A one-off aluminum fuel rail holds the injectors, but I am unsure of the cc on those. It's all controlled by a custom MegaSquirt ms3 Pro which was wired/tuned by the former owner and it runs really nice.
$10,000 bid placed by @Dantheman212
Any update on the build sheet?
@RVAE38 See my message to dansgross i just posted. Appreciate it.
@dansgross I only brought it up because someone had asked why I was selling the 16v after recently buying it. I don't want to use this chat as a platform to advertise a car not listed with here, but I will email if you'd like to corroborate my story. Thanks.
I'm also interested in the story on the other car. [email protected]
$8,500 bid placed by @DaveH
Hi, would you mind sharing some details on the second 190 you have? if that is posted for sale elsewhere and i may have missed it i apologize! thank you and best of luck! Feel free to shoot me an email, i’m relatively local and very interested! Dan [email protected] Dan
$7,500 bid placed by @Dantheman212
@JDubau Thanks for the compliment! And I agree with your logic on the insurance aspect of it.
@Joealcohol Joe the MB had 200k miles and was 20 years old when the accident happened. It would take very minimal damage for the insurance company to write it off as a total loss then to repair it. If it stated frame damage "which it doesn't" in CF I would think twice about pursuing any car. So I say go for it and make it yours, vn build!!
$6,190 bid placed by @mfedorov
@Joealcohol It's a clean PA title, with no brands.
The listing states that it’s a clean title but the carfax shows a total loss. Is there a brand on the title?
$5,250 bid placed by @Joealcohol
$5,000 bid placed by @Vancouver
@Harvrajwans - I should be able to provide a build sheet. I don't currently have it doc form. But I am in somewhat regular contact with the previous owner who built it. - The original wing does not come with the car.
Hi, Beautiful build, I have a couple questions: - Do you provide a build sheet on the rebuild and associated upgrades (parts used, mapping, etc...)? - I see that the rear wing is missing, is that included in the sale? Thanks, Harv
@gsxr thanks for the kind words. - You are correct on the A/C. - In terms of the "quick turnaround," I actually have another 190 that is highly modified, and am a bit torn on which to keep. I really like both builds, but unfortunately I can't keep both. So whichever sells, I will keep the other and continue modifying to my liking. - I'm checking on acquiring the dyno graph. If i do I will post it up.
Also - can you post a photo of the dyno graph? Thanks!
I see the air conditioning was deleted, this wasn't mentioned in the ad copy. Am I understanding this correctly - the twin-charge upgrade was done 250 miles ago, after purchasing the car 6 months ago? Why the quick turnaround on such a cool build?