Fantastic Sleeper: Cosworth’s Mercedes-Benz 190E

By Tony Markovich - May 5, 2016

mercedes-benz-190e

If you don’t hear it coming first, the initial judgement of a car comes from its look. Everybody is superficial to a degree, even if you don’t want to admit it to yourself. Don’t worry, you’re still a good person, it’ only natural. So upon first seeing a 1987 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16, it’s understandable that a large majority of people would probably just be like, “meh, looks like any other ’80s delivery box, but it’s a Mercedes-Benz, so it’s probably a little nicer.” Well, it is a Mercedes-Benz, so it is indeed nicer, but it’s also a Cosworth, so it’s also a much better ride, with plenty of research and engineering.

Of course, Benz didn’t just all of a sudden decide it wanted a Cosworth-powered saloon. The company was developing a car to use for rally racing, but the debut of the Audi Quattro made the upcoming 190E essentially behind-the-times before it even came out. So, Mercedes-Benz kicked the car into DTM racing instead. And in order to do that, they needed to homologate. (Fun fact, Ayrton Senna actually won a race at the Nurburgring GP circuit in the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 in 1984.)

So, yes, the 16-valve four-cylinder has a pedigree, and that’s exactly what attracted Del Necessary to the car. Fortunately Petrolicious found Mr. Necessary, and decided to document his super clean version in the video below.

“More than anything, it’s the engineering and it’s kind of like a little race car and it’s a hot rod that Mercedes built,” Necessary said. “It’s those kinds of things, that’s what really appealed to me, more so than the looks.”

The engine might not sound super exciting, only sporting 167 horsepower, but the chassis allowed it to hustle. And it has great unique features like a dogleg gear-shift, a factory wide body kit, and a small wing. Del loves it, and he has a little crew of some other pretty sick rides to compare it to. Check it out:

And if you don’t believe Del, just ask Richard Hammond, who champions the slightly more powerful 2.5-16 Cosworth in this Top Gear episode about how to spot a future classic: