Behind the Scenes Peek At HWA EVO Development

By Patrick Morgan - July 25, 2025

HWA

Prototype 1 is now doing the legwork for HWA engineers, and there’s eight more examples to go

They do things differently in Germany. Want to create a cool car or restomod? You don’t just take an old car, glitz it with new paint and call it a day. No, instead, you modify a car to such a degree that you’re given full manufacturer status. You may have heard of the Porsche tinkerer, Ruf. In the same measure, that’s what HWA is doing with their EVO.

Now, it sounds cool for HWA to be considered a manufacturer. But it also means there’s full manufacturer rules to abide by. Top Gear’s Ollie Marriage has a peek behind the scenes to see how development progresses for this $750,000 restomod. And it’s quite the adventure. Instead of just one restomod, you get a series run.

Prototype 1, the teal sensation you see here, is already bopping around test tracks and collecting important development data for the HWA team. Eight other prototypes will be built to test every aspect of the car, including two of those that will need to be crashed… It is a “new” car after all.

Behind the Scenes Peek At HWA EVO Development

But under the skin, it isn’t a new car. It’s a standard 190E, because you can still get those. But almost every single thing is changed or modified.

Front and rear sub frames and structures are entirely different to handle the front axle, now shifted significantly forward. It also accommodates the new engine, reportedly an M276.

Even though this car is a bit in shambles, with testing equipment and wiring all over the place, it has already helped with development of Prototype 2 and Prototype 3. And final versions will have things like the roll cage hidden from view creatively behind the paneling and interior of the car.

Behind the Scenes Peek At HWA EVO Development

But there’s one thing that HWA can’t stay away from, and that is motorsports. There’s plans to have the HWA EVO partake in the Nurburgring 24 hour race in 2026. That’s because all of the tech and all of the design put in to the car reflect the fact that it is a vehicle intended to be used on the track. And that’s about as good of an homage as one can pay to the 190E 2.3-16.