Track prepped 1987 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 -- $5,500
04-03-2009, 07:29 PM
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Track prepped 1987 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 -- $5,500
This is a rare 1987 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16. There were less than 2,000 sold here in 1986 and 1987. This chassis is stiff and impressively sorted as this was originally designed to be a rally car before the rules were changed allowing the quattro. The 16-valve cylinder head and equal length tuned headers were both designed and built by Cosworth.
The car has 133,411 miles and comes with a 5-speed Getrag close ratio transmission (dogleg first) with a 3.27:1 LSD rear end. Newer parts include: new dual fuel pumps, filter and collector, plugs, wires, cap and rotor. Oil has been changed every 3k miles with Mobil 1 15w50 and a new filter. Even though the engine is stock (except for a K&N Filter), this car is amazing to drive with smooth power delivery and loads of torque. It feels like an inline 6, but you get the lightweight and fuel economy of a 4-cylinder. On the highway, it is amazingly smooth and quiet, unlike a buzzy E30 M3.
The former President of the Mercedes Benz Club of America, Virginia Chapter owned this car for 7 years. He used this as a track car for MBCA track and autocross events as well as HPDE track events. Being used to carve corners on racetracks, quite a few modifications were made using high quality Mercedes parts or equivalent. The self-leveling rear suspension was blocked off and it was lowered using Eibach lowering springs with Bilstein shocks. The front anti-roll bar was replaced by a much thicker bar from a 500E and the rear was replaced with one from a 190E 2.5-16 Evo2 racecar. To improve braking, four piston E430 front brakes and SL600 rear brakes were installed adding stainless steel brake lines to improve brake feel. Lightweight (13lbs each) 16x7 wheels from a CLK320 coupe with like new 205/55VR16 Continental ContiExtreme tires were mounted to clear the larger brakes.
When I bought the car, I wanted to make it “show and go” so I added upgrades to improve the looks. The car has Hella European E Code one-piece glass headlights with replaceable halogen bulbs (instead of sealed beams) and clear corner lights. These not only improve the looks but also improve nighttime vision. To further improve the exterior, I added an AvanteGarde S600 front grill with wider slats, a removable hood star and jeweled red / clear taillights. I did not like the asymmetrical side mirrors that come stock so I installed a drivers side mirror from a right hand drive 190E from England.
To improve looks in the interior, an air/fuel meter (connected to wideband O2 sensor) replaced a non-working lap timer on the center console. Burlwood dash trim was installed along with newer style window switches all around. To improve safety and looks, a set of brushed aluminum and rubber pedals from SLK320 were also installed.
The car starts right up without any smoke and drives great, but is a 25-year-old car so it's not perfect. The body is very straight with NO rust and the new Mercedes Black (code 040) paint looks great. Inside the interior is in good shape with the exception of some seat seams that need to be re-sewn. The Recaro sport seats are powered with 2 memory settings. An Alpine CDE-9881 model AM/FM/CD/MP3/WMA player with a remote control powers two 6x9’s and an 8” subwoofer on the back deck.
It does have a few remaining items to take care of. The a/c does not work although all components are still installed. There is a windshield seal leak so water can get through when going through drive-thru car washes. This was temporarily repaired with silicone a few years ago but it has started leaking again.The previous owner said the water pump pulley may be a little warped but the pump still works fine and I haven't had any troubles on the track so I haven't bothered with it.
I would love to keep this car but it is a 5-speed, and I need a track car that my wife can drive in emergencies as a second car. This car is quite reliable, and I wouldn't hesitate to drive it anywhere. I’ve driven this car 4 hours to VIR, tracked it for 3 days and driven it 4 hours back home. I’ve done the same thing driving to, at, and from Summit Point Raceway. Car has had no known accidents and I have a clean VA title in my name ready to sign over to the new owner. I am asking only asking $5,500, which is a great price for a track prepped, collectable Mercedes. I've already replaced this car with a C36 AMG so I'm not interested in any trades.
Overview of the 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth Mercedes
There was excitement among automotive experts on November 29, 1982: the third Mercedes-Benz model series--in the form of the long-awaited compact Mercedes-Benz 190E appeared on the automotive world stage. A sensation, as it would turn out, because in terms of design, suspension, engine and lightweight materials, this Mercedes differed distinctively from its brand brethren, the Mercedes mid-series, as it was called at the time. Today, the model designations are a lot simpler: C-Class, E-Class and S-Class.
The eagerly awaited 190E 2.3-16 certainly shook people up. It had already made its very first appearance in Italy on the high-speed test track in Nardo, near Lecce in southern Italy, to be precise. Three cars, only slightly cosmetically altered, had set three world records in August at the Nardo testing facility in Italy, recording a combined average speed of 154.06 mph (247.94 km/h) over the 50,000 km endurance test, and establishing twelve international endurance records.
When new Mercedes-Benz models make their first public appearance, their prototypes already have a hard time behind them, a tour de force to make them fit for a long automotive life with as little disturbance as possible. Yet it was rather unusual to stage the last acid test of outstanding performance in public – on a high-speed test track.
When this car was conceived as the top of the 190E range, the rear-wheel drive 2.3-16 was considered a credible way back into international motor sport. Its chassis was deemed capable, its weight distribution adequate and its position at the bottom of the Mercedes range absolutely perfect for maximum PR effect. All Mercedes needed was an engine, and this is where the 2.3-16 broke all the rules. Renowned for its solid engineering skills, Mercedes nevertheless chose to seek outside technical expertise for beefing up the 190E, from Cosworth Engineering of Northampton. Cosworth admits it was amazed to get the phone call from Stuttgart, but in fact it made perfect sense. Not only was Cosworth a safe bet as a technical partner in the planned re-entry into motor sport, it had also proved itself an expert in producing reliable four valve combustion engines, a technology still in its infancy in mass production. Mercedes had a reasonably powerful six-cylinder engine at hand, but it needed something more fiery for its racer, and so it delivered its standard M102, four-cylinder 2.3-litre block on Cosworth's doorstep, and commissioned a 16-valve cylinder head. And the 2.3-16 was born.
The new 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine with twin overhead camshafts in the 190E 2.3-16 was the first four-valve powerpack in a production Mercedes. Its light-alloy cylinder head, developed together with the British Cosworth company, had two camshafts, four V-shaped overhead valves per cylinder and pent-roof shape combustion chambers with a favorable geometry and spark plugs optimally located in the center. It was made from light alloy using Coscast's unique casting process and brought with it dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, meaning 16 valves total, which were developed to be the "largest that could practically be fitted into the combustion chamber". Precise mixture formation was ensured by mechanical Bosch KE-Jetronic fuel injection.
The engine (U.S. Spec) developed at 167 hp @ 5800 rpm and 162 lb·ft @ 4750, giving the car acceleration from standstill to 62 mph in 7.5 seconds and a top speed of 131 mph. The engine was combined with a manual five-speed transmission tuned for sporty performance. Self-leveling suspension on the rear axle was a standard feature.
The bodywork was aerodynamically modified to match the car's high performance. Front and rear aprons extended further down and a small spoiler on the trunk lid generated additional down force. Wheel arch flares covered the tires --wider than those of the 190E. Thus prepared, the car entered large-scale production.
Three of these production cars were slightly modified for record runs aimed at proving their reliability: the bodywork was lowered by 15 millimeters, the front apron was extended downwards by 20 millimeters, the fan was removed and the power steering replaced by mechanical steering. In the early morning of August 13, 1983, they started out on a 50,000 km high-speed test run, demanding stamina on the part of cars, drivers and test department staff. The Nardo cars also featured self-leveling suspension on the front axle to keep the ground clearance at a constant level.
The record track in Nardo is precisely 12.64026 kilometers long, has a diameter of some four kilometers and slightly banked lanes, thereby permitting driving almost without lateral forces even in the speed range over 140 mph.
According to the engineers' calculations, the cars were to reach the 50,000 km target in the morning of the eighth day – provided there were no problems, the pit stops were performed as scheduled and the six drivers were up to the strain. Lap times were to be three minutes and five seconds to reach the targeted average speed of 240 km/h including pit stops. Due to the cars' low Cd value of 0.30, they were expected to reach somewhat higher top speeds than the production versions.
Every two-and-a-half hours, the cars came in for refueling and a change of driver during a 20-second pit stop. The heavily strained rear tires had to be replaced every 8,500 kilometers and the front tires every 17,000 kilometers. During these five-minute tire change breaks, the oil and oil filters were also replaced and the valve clearance was checked. To protect the headlamp lenses against soiling and damage during the daytime, plastic caps covered them; the radiator mask was fitted with a quick-change insect screen to prevent clogging of the radiator.
After 201 hours, 39 minutes and 43 seconds, two of the cars had clocked up 50,000 kilometers. The replacement parts carried on board in compliance with the regulations had not been required – the cars had been running perfectly smoothly despite the extreme strain. The third car was laid up for three hours by a broken distributor rotor arm – an item costing just a few cents, which the pit crew were not allowed to replace but had to repair.
The new Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 had already more than fulfilled the hopes pinned on it when it became a crowd-puller at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and a winner when it came to sales success.
In the following years, the 16-valve model formed the sound basis for the extremely successful Mercedes-Benz racing cars entered in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM).
Links:
http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...er%20Cylinder/
http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...utocar%201985/
http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...%20Dec%201995/
http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...16V%20article/
http://www.motivemag.com/pub/feature...E_2_3-16.shtml
http://webmail.east.cox.net/do/redir...re%253Drelated
http://www.theshowroomshine.com/Jack...MotorTrend.pdf
The car has 133,411 miles and comes with a 5-speed Getrag close ratio transmission (dogleg first) with a 3.27:1 LSD rear end. Newer parts include: new dual fuel pumps, filter and collector, plugs, wires, cap and rotor. Oil has been changed every 3k miles with Mobil 1 15w50 and a new filter. Even though the engine is stock (except for a K&N Filter), this car is amazing to drive with smooth power delivery and loads of torque. It feels like an inline 6, but you get the lightweight and fuel economy of a 4-cylinder. On the highway, it is amazingly smooth and quiet, unlike a buzzy E30 M3.
The former President of the Mercedes Benz Club of America, Virginia Chapter owned this car for 7 years. He used this as a track car for MBCA track and autocross events as well as HPDE track events. Being used to carve corners on racetracks, quite a few modifications were made using high quality Mercedes parts or equivalent. The self-leveling rear suspension was blocked off and it was lowered using Eibach lowering springs with Bilstein shocks. The front anti-roll bar was replaced by a much thicker bar from a 500E and the rear was replaced with one from a 190E 2.5-16 Evo2 racecar. To improve braking, four piston E430 front brakes and SL600 rear brakes were installed adding stainless steel brake lines to improve brake feel. Lightweight (13lbs each) 16x7 wheels from a CLK320 coupe with like new 205/55VR16 Continental ContiExtreme tires were mounted to clear the larger brakes.
When I bought the car, I wanted to make it “show and go” so I added upgrades to improve the looks. The car has Hella European E Code one-piece glass headlights with replaceable halogen bulbs (instead of sealed beams) and clear corner lights. These not only improve the looks but also improve nighttime vision. To further improve the exterior, I added an AvanteGarde S600 front grill with wider slats, a removable hood star and jeweled red / clear taillights. I did not like the asymmetrical side mirrors that come stock so I installed a drivers side mirror from a right hand drive 190E from England.
To improve looks in the interior, an air/fuel meter (connected to wideband O2 sensor) replaced a non-working lap timer on the center console. Burlwood dash trim was installed along with newer style window switches all around. To improve safety and looks, a set of brushed aluminum and rubber pedals from SLK320 were also installed.
The car starts right up without any smoke and drives great, but is a 25-year-old car so it's not perfect. The body is very straight with NO rust and the new Mercedes Black (code 040) paint looks great. Inside the interior is in good shape with the exception of some seat seams that need to be re-sewn. The Recaro sport seats are powered with 2 memory settings. An Alpine CDE-9881 model AM/FM/CD/MP3/WMA player with a remote control powers two 6x9’s and an 8” subwoofer on the back deck.
It does have a few remaining items to take care of. The a/c does not work although all components are still installed. There is a windshield seal leak so water can get through when going through drive-thru car washes. This was temporarily repaired with silicone a few years ago but it has started leaking again.The previous owner said the water pump pulley may be a little warped but the pump still works fine and I haven't had any troubles on the track so I haven't bothered with it.
I would love to keep this car but it is a 5-speed, and I need a track car that my wife can drive in emergencies as a second car. This car is quite reliable, and I wouldn't hesitate to drive it anywhere. I’ve driven this car 4 hours to VIR, tracked it for 3 days and driven it 4 hours back home. I’ve done the same thing driving to, at, and from Summit Point Raceway. Car has had no known accidents and I have a clean VA title in my name ready to sign over to the new owner. I am asking only asking $5,500, which is a great price for a track prepped, collectable Mercedes. I've already replaced this car with a C36 AMG so I'm not interested in any trades.
Overview of the 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth Mercedes
There was excitement among automotive experts on November 29, 1982: the third Mercedes-Benz model series--in the form of the long-awaited compact Mercedes-Benz 190E appeared on the automotive world stage. A sensation, as it would turn out, because in terms of design, suspension, engine and lightweight materials, this Mercedes differed distinctively from its brand brethren, the Mercedes mid-series, as it was called at the time. Today, the model designations are a lot simpler: C-Class, E-Class and S-Class.
The eagerly awaited 190E 2.3-16 certainly shook people up. It had already made its very first appearance in Italy on the high-speed test track in Nardo, near Lecce in southern Italy, to be precise. Three cars, only slightly cosmetically altered, had set three world records in August at the Nardo testing facility in Italy, recording a combined average speed of 154.06 mph (247.94 km/h) over the 50,000 km endurance test, and establishing twelve international endurance records.
When new Mercedes-Benz models make their first public appearance, their prototypes already have a hard time behind them, a tour de force to make them fit for a long automotive life with as little disturbance as possible. Yet it was rather unusual to stage the last acid test of outstanding performance in public – on a high-speed test track.
When this car was conceived as the top of the 190E range, the rear-wheel drive 2.3-16 was considered a credible way back into international motor sport. Its chassis was deemed capable, its weight distribution adequate and its position at the bottom of the Mercedes range absolutely perfect for maximum PR effect. All Mercedes needed was an engine, and this is where the 2.3-16 broke all the rules. Renowned for its solid engineering skills, Mercedes nevertheless chose to seek outside technical expertise for beefing up the 190E, from Cosworth Engineering of Northampton. Cosworth admits it was amazed to get the phone call from Stuttgart, but in fact it made perfect sense. Not only was Cosworth a safe bet as a technical partner in the planned re-entry into motor sport, it had also proved itself an expert in producing reliable four valve combustion engines, a technology still in its infancy in mass production. Mercedes had a reasonably powerful six-cylinder engine at hand, but it needed something more fiery for its racer, and so it delivered its standard M102, four-cylinder 2.3-litre block on Cosworth's doorstep, and commissioned a 16-valve cylinder head. And the 2.3-16 was born.
The new 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine with twin overhead camshafts in the 190E 2.3-16 was the first four-valve powerpack in a production Mercedes. Its light-alloy cylinder head, developed together with the British Cosworth company, had two camshafts, four V-shaped overhead valves per cylinder and pent-roof shape combustion chambers with a favorable geometry and spark plugs optimally located in the center. It was made from light alloy using Coscast's unique casting process and brought with it dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, meaning 16 valves total, which were developed to be the "largest that could practically be fitted into the combustion chamber". Precise mixture formation was ensured by mechanical Bosch KE-Jetronic fuel injection.
The engine (U.S. Spec) developed at 167 hp @ 5800 rpm and 162 lb·ft @ 4750, giving the car acceleration from standstill to 62 mph in 7.5 seconds and a top speed of 131 mph. The engine was combined with a manual five-speed transmission tuned for sporty performance. Self-leveling suspension on the rear axle was a standard feature.
The bodywork was aerodynamically modified to match the car's high performance. Front and rear aprons extended further down and a small spoiler on the trunk lid generated additional down force. Wheel arch flares covered the tires --wider than those of the 190E. Thus prepared, the car entered large-scale production.
Three of these production cars were slightly modified for record runs aimed at proving their reliability: the bodywork was lowered by 15 millimeters, the front apron was extended downwards by 20 millimeters, the fan was removed and the power steering replaced by mechanical steering. In the early morning of August 13, 1983, they started out on a 50,000 km high-speed test run, demanding stamina on the part of cars, drivers and test department staff. The Nardo cars also featured self-leveling suspension on the front axle to keep the ground clearance at a constant level.
The record track in Nardo is precisely 12.64026 kilometers long, has a diameter of some four kilometers and slightly banked lanes, thereby permitting driving almost without lateral forces even in the speed range over 140 mph.
According to the engineers' calculations, the cars were to reach the 50,000 km target in the morning of the eighth day – provided there were no problems, the pit stops were performed as scheduled and the six drivers were up to the strain. Lap times were to be three minutes and five seconds to reach the targeted average speed of 240 km/h including pit stops. Due to the cars' low Cd value of 0.30, they were expected to reach somewhat higher top speeds than the production versions.
Every two-and-a-half hours, the cars came in for refueling and a change of driver during a 20-second pit stop. The heavily strained rear tires had to be replaced every 8,500 kilometers and the front tires every 17,000 kilometers. During these five-minute tire change breaks, the oil and oil filters were also replaced and the valve clearance was checked. To protect the headlamp lenses against soiling and damage during the daytime, plastic caps covered them; the radiator mask was fitted with a quick-change insect screen to prevent clogging of the radiator.
After 201 hours, 39 minutes and 43 seconds, two of the cars had clocked up 50,000 kilometers. The replacement parts carried on board in compliance with the regulations had not been required – the cars had been running perfectly smoothly despite the extreme strain. The third car was laid up for three hours by a broken distributor rotor arm – an item costing just a few cents, which the pit crew were not allowed to replace but had to repair.
The new Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 had already more than fulfilled the hopes pinned on it when it became a crowd-puller at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and a winner when it came to sales success.
In the following years, the 16-valve model formed the sound basis for the extremely successful Mercedes-Benz racing cars entered in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM).
Links:
http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...er%20Cylinder/
http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...utocar%201985/
http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...%20Dec%201995/
http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...16V%20article/
http://www.motivemag.com/pub/feature...E_2_3-16.shtml
http://webmail.east.cox.net/do/redir...re%253Drelated
http://www.theshowroomshine.com/Jack...MotorTrend.pdf
Last edited by Don; 04-04-2009 at 08:34 AM.
04-04-2009, 07:29 PM
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artsy fuck
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Re: Track prepped 1987 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 -- $5,500
WOW this car is amazing. glws 
04-05-2009, 05:35 AM
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Hereeeeesss Beezyy!
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Re: Track prepped 1987 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 -- $5,500
How exactly is the car "track prepped"?
04-05-2009, 06:08 AM
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Re: Track prepped 1987 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 -- $5,500
04-05-2009, 07:11 AM
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ig oggggg
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Re: Track prepped 1987 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 -- $5,500
pics of interior and motor?
04-05-2009, 07:17 AM
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IM BACK BITCH"S
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Re: Track prepped 1987 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 -- $5,500
i dont know about "track prepped" but it is a very nice car
04-05-2009, 11:11 AM
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Re: Track prepped 1987 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 -- $5,500
yea i was thinking gutted/cagged/etc car... but this is an amazingly clean car and
+10 for the full description and background about the car. interior/motor pics would also help like stated previously. glws
+10 for the full description and background about the car. interior/motor pics would also help like stated previously. glws
04-05-2009, 11:18 AM
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Re: Track prepped 1987 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 -- $5,500
04-05-2009, 04:59 PM
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Re: Track prepped 1987 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 -- $5,500
Damn this is an awesome car, if I were to get a Benz it would be something just like this.
04-05-2009, 06:34 PM
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Re: Track prepped 1987 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 -- $5,500
humm maybe i will get another one