This 1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 is one of 502 Evolution I examples built and was originally ordered via the Emden Branch for the Japanese market. It was delivered to the original client in Japan in 1989 and remained there until 2019 when it was exported to Australia and subsequently the United States for the selling dealer. This example shows an original 21k km (~13k miles) and includes the Japanese records since new that have been translated in preparation for the sale. Finished in Black Pearl Metallic (199) over Anthracite Leather (271) this special W201 is powered by a 2.5-liter Cosworth inline-four paired with a dogleg five-speed manual transmission. Equipment includes a limited-slip differential, a self-leveling suspension, 16″ Evo I alloy wheels, a power sunroof, power-adjustable heated front seats, and a Carrozzeria head unit. The selling dealer has included a full inspection report showing mechanical condition of the car including a compression test, seal and gasket check, and electronics check. Records for the car have been kept since 1989 and have been translated from Japanese in preparation for the sale. The selling dealer has promised a complete fluid flush and filter change for the buyer as well. This W201 Evolution I is now offered by the selling dealer in Florida with the owner’s manual, complete service records, 2 keys, importation paperwork, and a clean Florida title.
Mercedes-Benz introduced the 190E Evolution as a limited-production homologation for the 1989 model year. Just 502 examples were built, each featuring revised front and rear valances, a rear wing, and pronounced fender flares. This example is finished from the factory in Black Pearl Metallic (199) and retains original paint. Detailed photos of the body have been included in the gallery.
The 16x8″ Evo I-specific alloy wheels wear Michelin tires measuring 225/50 at all four corners showing 2018 date codes. The Evolution I was lowered by 19mm compared to the standard 2.5-16, and its track width was increased by 14mm in front and 24mm at the rear. An adjustable self-leveling suspension was equipped from the factory, and braking is handled by four-wheel discs with ABS.
The cabin is trimmed in original Anthracite Leather (271) and features Recaro seats in the front and rear touting thick bolsters and support. The front seats are heated with power controls and the rear seats show original headrests as noted on the data card. Interior features include air conditioning, courtesy lamps, a power-adjustable passenger mirror, a power sunroof, and ancillary OEM gauges mounted in the center console.
The leather-wrapped steering wheel frames a 260-km/h speedometer and a tachometer with a 7,200-rpm redline as well as gauges for coolant temperature, oil pressure, fuel level, and instant fuel economy. Auxiliary gauges located in the center stack display oil temperature and voltage. The six-digit odometer shows 21k km (~13k miles) from new.
The 2.5-liter M102 inline-four was developed by Cosworth and features a shorter stroke and larger bore than the standard 2.5-16 model. Factory-rated output was 202 horsepower. The selling dealer has included a full inspection report showing mechanical condition of the car including a compression test, seal and gasket check, and electronics check. Records for the car have been kept since 1989 and have been translated from Japanese in preparation for the sale. The selling dealer has promised a complete fluid flush and filter change for the buyer as well. Detailed photos of the underside have been included in the sale.
This W201 Evolution I is now offered by the selling dealer in Florida with the owner’s manual, complete service records, 2 keys, importation paperwork, and a clean Florida title.
The seller has included the following videos:
Open Transit:
Enclosed Transit:
The winning bidder will receive an email with the quote and option to proceed with shipping.
Get the best of The MB Market directly in your inbox every day. Subscribe for a curated list of our top market listings and articles!
35 Comments
@ASGMiami, @BabyBenzFan, Same here. Did not want to throw any shade while the auction was happening but I am very hard pressed to believe that the mileage is accurate. 1. State of the undercarriage is no where representative of the mileage 2. Wear and tear on the gear lever is way too much for a car driven 13k miles 3. Not one document was produced in the entire 35 year history of this car that has mileage recorded at any point in time. Very dubious indeed. Papers got lost in transit....Come on!! All of the above do not add up and Ex-Japanese cars are notorious for odometer issues with scams abound. Also see thread below https://mbworld.org/forums/190e-w201/894987-evo-1-mb-market.html@ASGMiami, I'm not surprised this car didn't sell. I didn't want to throw cold water on the auction but the condition of the undercarriage on this car clearly didn't match the condition of the paint and the interior. If a deal can't be reached with the high bidder, I would encourage the seller to at least do a dry ice treatment on the undercarriage. That'll start to bring the condition of the undercarriage more in line with the condition of the paint and the interior. I own a 16,000 mile W201 and my undercarriage looks practically brand new. I also thought that $200,000 would've been enough to take this EVO I home. More than what was bid is beginning to get into EVO II territory. Just my 2 cents of advise.Thank you to all interested parties, it was a pleasure to meet many of you interested over the phone. Unfortunately, we fell a little short from the reserve on this one, but we look forward to speaking with the highest bidder. Have a great day!$219,999 bid placed by @JaSimpson78
$215,500 bid placed by @mbowner
$215,000 bid placed by @JaSimpson78
$214,500 bid placed by @mbowner
$214,000 bid placed by @JaSimpson78
$212,000 bid placed by @mbowner
$211,500 bid placed by @JaSimpson78
$209,000 bid placed by @mbowner
$207,500 bid placed by @JaSimpson78
$205,500 bid placed by @BenzGarage
$205,000 bid placed by @JaSimpson78
$201,190 bid placed by @BenzGarage
$200,000 bid placed by @Hoggit
$195,000 bid placed by @Antiquarian
$189,999 bid placed by @JaSimpson78
$185,000 bid placed by @Hoggit
$180,000 bid placed by @AMGCOLLECT
$175,201 bid placed by @Hoggit
$160,500 bid placed by @AMGCOLLECT
$150,000 bid placed by @BenzGarage
Last day of bidding. Let us know of any last-minute questions you might have, we are here to help till the final minute. Good luck to all interested parties, this is a very rare opportunity for such a well-preserved example for one of the DTM legends.@Ntrepid Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have resubmitted the pictures to the auction and will be uploaded shortly.Where are the pictures of the engine? Odd that they are not here$140,000 bid placed by @AMGCOLLECT
@AMGCOLLECT The self leveling suspension has been inspected and is fully functional both up and down. All features and electronics are in working order.Additional photos of the trunk and spare tire have been added to the gallery.@asgmiami Is the front leveling suspension in working order? Anything not working on the car?$110,000 bid placed by @BenzGarage
$100,000 bid placed by @AMGCOLLECT
Haven't seen an Evolution 1 with these miles in years. To add I remain speechless with the Evolution II example you guys own, congratulations on that find!Additional documentation has been uploaded to the gallery.Oto Facts Japan Report and Japan MLIT Car VX Report submitted and will be uploaded shortly by the auction.@ASGMiami, I honestly don't know why anyone would sell either of the EVOs. Sellers certainly have their reasons. BTW and FYI, in the website description for the EVO II , the body of the description says EVO I. Also the mileage at the very top of the page says 175 KM while the bottom of the page says 157 KM. I had no idea that there was an EVO II with such low mileage. I can't begin to imagine what that'll sell for. That really is a museum piece. I'm not sure that MB itself still has one with a mileage that low. I also didn't know that there was an EVO I with such low mileage until this auction either. This has been such an entertaining auction for MB W201 enthusiasts in so many ways. I'm so looking forward to watching this auction unfold.@sirmathrocks This Evolution I example was very well known in the collector circles in Japan. Records submitted and on file with the vehicle confirm one owner from 1989-2018). Fram Japan it was purchased from the original owner and imported by Dutton Garage in Australia. Previous listing of the vehicle can be found here https://duttongarage.com/Mercedes-Benz-E~49639 From Dutton garage it was sold to a very prestigious collection in the Midwest. Parked alongside a 175km EVO II which we own as well and can be found on our website. With experience in these cars over the years, the quality of this Evolution I speaks for itself. All major wear points an this example are in mint condition and can only be achieved with this level or mileage and originality. Efforts have been made to reach out to the Australian dealer and Japanese exporter to provide any records available. We encourage any serious parties interested to come inspect the vehicle or reach out to us to be put in contact with the shop that performed the inspection.$85,000 bid placed by @BenzGarage
An additional video has been added to the listing.Photos of paint meter readings and the original dealer stamp have been added to the gallery.Paint meter reading pictures submitted to the auction and will be uploaded shortly.@ASGMiami is there one single document anywhere in this car's history that has recorded mileage at any point of time in it's life? The Japanese title, Export Certificate, History Certificate? Any maintenance record that has mileage recorded?@BabyBenzFan Thank you for the kind words on this example. A true MB collection wouldn't be complete without both the Evolution I and Evolution II. We are lucky to own an extremely low mileage EVO II example as well.I've also been wondering if there was an ultra low mileage EVO I since I'm aware of several ultra low mileage EVO IIs and now I have my answer. I'm also really curious to see what this one will sell for. The paint on this car is spectacular. My hunch is that it should set a record. Sadly it's already out of my price range. My more mortal W201-8v and I have our popcorn popped and are ready to be entertained. My hope for this car is that it goes to the home of a long time MB collector who'll love it for the great car that it is. The seller doesn't need any luck. This car will sell itself.Japan MLIT Car VX Report submitted to the auction and will be uploaded shortly.The current records and the Japanese MLIT CAR VX report certify the single ownership in Japan before it was sold to Australia. We believe from the original owner in Japan it went to an independent vintage car dealership in Australia who then sold it to the US based collector, whom we purchased it from. Based on our research the vehicle was accompanied by some further service documentation that unfortunately was lost in transit from Australia to the US. For this reason we felt it was necessary to have the vehicle inspected to assure originality and true mileage condition overall for the next caretaker. We recommend that any serious parties please get in touch with us to speak directly with Azael Motorsports to go over the Inspection report, vehicle condition and compression test results.@sirmathrocks The original Becker Radio is not with the car and is not included in the sale. This aftermarket Carrozzeria head unit is in place which is a common radio head unit found in some of the vintage AMGS and Mercedes we have purchased out of Japan in the recent years. We will circle back to the records question in a separate post for the auction.Dealer Maintenance Stamp & Kardex have been submitted to the auction and will be uploaded shortly.$80,000 bid placed by @Princivil
Is the Original Becker radio available? This seems to have some aftermarket thing installed. Also which of the Japanese documents is showing mileage progression over time?$52,000 bid placed by @TheoD
$50,000 bid placed by @4wheelclctr
Photos of this in a studio are spectacular but seeing it drive amongst normal traffic and average cars truly puts in perspective how great these are to look at.Driving and Walk-Around videos have been added to the auction.Driving video and walk around video have been submitted to the auction as well.A cold-start video has been added to the auction.@Hamidkaci87 Cold start video has been submitted to the auction and should be uploaded shortly.$40,000 bid placed by @LP1985
Hi, could you please add cold start video.@Harrdware This example has not been displayed at Amelia Island..Has this car been shown at the Amelia Concours, or Amelia Cars & Coffee, in the past? I remember seeing an excellent example there that was owned by a gentlemen in south Florida.stunning!$30,500 bid placed by @ekstarr
Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen, we are pleased to bring to auction this very rare opportunity to own the best Mercedes Evolution I example to come to market in the last 5 years. This Evo I spent time both in Japan and Australia before making its way to the US. Presented here today in original condition with the exception of the radio head unit and showcasing 13,000 miles since new. You will find below the complete PPI report and compression readings we had completed prior to the auction. Please reach out to us with any questions or to stop by and inspect or view the Evolution I. Good luck to all interested parties!$30,000 bid placed by @LP1985