﹒Garaged and cherished by the same owner for last 19 years ﹒Clean, original car ﹒Stunning interior
The Background
In the car world, when people speak of a homologation model they are referring to a model of car that has been produced for the road, normally based on a motorsport version of the same model. Often in the 80s/90s manufacturers were only allowed to unleash their race tuned fire breathing monsters on the world of motorsport if they agreed to produce a certain number of detuned versions for the road.
Mercedes actually developed the 190E Cosworth to compete in the Rally championship as a direct competitor to the best that Ford had to offer at the time, the world beating Mk2 Escort. However, by the time they had taken their 190E which was already popular with the slightly more reserved executives and let Cosworth work their magic by transforming a Mercedes 4 cylinder with their expertise and engine tuning wizardry so that it produced considerably more power it was too late. Audi had introduced the Quattro to the rally world and was wiping the floor with every other marque. Just like the RWD Escorts the RWD of the Mercedes would not be able to keep up with the revelation that was the Audi Quattro but having invested a lot in the development of the Mercedes 190E Cosworth the guys at Mercedes went on the hunt for another motorsport series to enter it in and found the Touring Car Championship or DTM.
Going head to head against the BMW E30 M3 round after round , season after season , the Mercedes Cosworth proved to be more than a match on track with its 2.5litre putting out 200Bhp and soon it had built up a large fan base. Slightly more reserved in appearance than the E30 but just as hard core as its rival , with the right drivers , the two cars made very exciting racing for the spectator and are still considered to this day legends in their own right.
For some reason, the road going versions of the DTM inspired BMW E30 are rising in price at a fantastic rate and have recently stepped ahead of their Mercedes counterpart in the value stakes. This means that when you think about how closely they battled on the track year in year out in the golden age of touring cars the fact that the BMW prices have leapt ahead actually makes the Mercedes Cosworth a bit of a bargain.
The current owner has cherished this particular car for the last 19 years, bought for him by his loving wife. It has been garaged through the winters and taken out for special occasions through the summers. The car has been kept to a decent standard and the owner has been careful to keep her as honest as possible and largely OEM with no crazy wheels or additional bodykit. He has covered just 4,000 miles in his 19 years of ownership which gives some indication of just how special taking this car out is for him. He has continued to have the car maintained regardless of cost or miles driven and there is plenty of documentation to back this up.
He informed us that he is only selling the vehicle due to having two other classics that need more attention and thus needing the space.
There is a decent amount of historical paperwork (photographed) with this vehicle including past MOTs and receipts for parts and works carried out and servicing history. There are receipts for the Timing chain replacement at a Mercedes dealer at 103k miles. There are some manuals for the vehicles and 1 original key.
The full black leather interior in this vehicle is very clean. Surprisingly, the common wear found to the drivers bolster on a sporty style seat like these is not present. They are in very good condition and the leather has been fed/treated regularly by the current owner and it really does show. There are a few minor surface cracks but as you can see from the pictures, they are in very good condition indeed. The rear seats don’t appear to have been sat in that often at all and they do have the additional rear headrests. All of the interior electrics work, windows, sunroof etc this spec model does not have the electric seats so these are manual only. The gear knob leather has some minor wear and the trip-ometer has some “fogging” which is a common sign on these but easily fixed. The air-con could do with a fresh re-gas to make it ice cold. All in all, a very nice place to be and it still retains that 80s/90s car smell that you typically get with big German saloons.
Finished in silver this particular car is straight and true. The outside is very tidy and is largely original paint. The bonnet , front valance and rear valance have received fresh paint to eradicate some stone chips. The passenger side wing has been replaced with a genuine item and repainted due to corrosion. There are but a few small blemishes around the vehicle, two near the rear passenger side arch and some on the chrome on the front grill. The wheels are straight and true with no damage, they would benefit from a deep clean. Overall , the exterior of the vehicle is clean for largely original 30 year old paint , a testament to being garaged through the harsh winter weather. All of the original body styling additions relevant to this model are present and there is no damage. Please acknowledge that this is an honest original car and will have some signs of its 30 years so if you're after a showroom or concourse example this probably isn’t the one for you. It’s worth noting that if you are after a showroom or concourse example though that you can expect to pay nearly double the guide price of this example.
The car has had the rear suspension upgraded and still retains the self levelling set up that came from the factory, the current owner says that as a result of this refresh it “handles like it's on rails”. The car starts, stops and goes well with no odd smoke or noises. Any mechanical work required in the last 19 years of the current owner’s possession has been attended to and can be backed up with the paperwork as proof. The car has some minor surface rust underneath and 4 small spots where the under-seal has come away when it was put on a ramp but this has not rusted, neither has the owner attempted to disguise it in preference of keeping it honest. The remus stainless back box sounds fruity and enables you to hear the lovely burble from that 2.5 litre Cosworth developed lump but has had some welding repairs recently to pass the MOT so could do with changing at some point. The car has a fresh MOT which takes it out to August 2021.
Maybe you can remember watching the track version of this car go head to head with the BMW E30 in the late 80s and early 90s, but even if you're too young I recommend you look it up and understand where this car came from. If you're in the market for a tribute and close descendant of an 80s/90s fast saloon racing icon then you have a few choices. However, with the prices the way they are right now you’ll struggle to get more for your money than a useable example like this Mercedes Cosworth.
Notice to bidders
Although every care is taken to ensure this listing is as factual and transparent as possible, all details within the listing are subject to the information provided to us by the seller. Car & Classic does not take responsibility for any information missing from the listing.
As is normal for most auctions, this vehicle is sold as seen, and therefore the Sales of Goods Act 1979 does not apply. All bids are legally binding once placed. Any winning bidder who withdraws from a sale, is subject to our bidders fee charge. Please see our FAQs and T&C's for further information. Viewings of vehicles are encouraged, but entirely at the sellers discretion.
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1990 Mercedes 190E 2.5 16v Cosworth
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