This is a 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II. Designed by Peter Pfeiffer and Bruno Sacco, the 190 E was part of the W201 series of Mercedes-Benz cars. Unveiled at the 1990 Geneva Motor Show, the 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II was the ultimate evolution of the 190 E family.
Powered by the same 2.5L M102 inline-4 as the previous Evolution, the Evolution II was fitted with the AMG PowerPack, generating 232 BHP, fully-adjustable SLS suspension using an interior switch, 17-inch alloy wheels and most notably, a radical body kit. This bodykit was mainly designed by Prof. Richard Läpple from the University of Stuttgart, with the massive boxy wing designed by Rüdiger Faul, an aerodynamicist at Mercedes-Benz.
Produced starting 1990 at a price of DM 136,720, the Evolution II was a success, with the entire production run apparently sold out before the car was even unveiled. A period anecdote claims that BMW's R&D Head Wolfgang Reitzle stating that "the laws of aerodynamics must be different between Munich and Stuttgart" and "if that rear wing works, we have to redesign our wind tunnel"; BMW apparently did actually redesign their wind tunnel. Production ended in 1991 with 502 produced.
Now this casting was designed by Mark Jones and introduced in 2017 in the Modern Classics segment of the Car Culture line. This casting has seen ten known releases, the last being this one in the Modern Classics series in 2024; this is the first time the casting has been referred to as an Evolution II in a while and given a specific model year of 1990.
