1986-1987 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16
Average asking price*: $13,900
Collector status: Buy and hold
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In one of the greatest departures in Mercedes-Benz history, the W201 190E was introduced in 1982. This was after all their first ever subcompact yet it had to feel in every way like a proper Merc. Often referred to as “Baby Benz,” it went onto become what we now know as the C Class.

While the 190E was popular and achieved its objectives, Mercedes-Benz engineers were developing a W201 intended for motorsport. Initially meant to be a rally car, their efforts turned to the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) after Audi changed the game with the advent of four wheel drive. Using the 2.3-litre 16-valve motor designed and built by Cosworth for the rally car, development began on the 190E as a privateer car as the factory was under a self-imposed ban on motorsport. As there were homologation rules in DTM, Mercedes-Benz also had to build a minimum of 5,000 road-spec cars, and the 190E 2.3-16 was born. It was this road car that took part in some notable factory-backed track events. In 1983, shortly after the W201s introduction, Mercedes-Benz set out to prove the reliability of its new baby with the Cosworth engine by undergoing an endurance-speed test in Nardo, Italy. In it, three road-spec cars with only slight modifications set out to run 50,000 kilometers at a targeted average speed of 240 km/hr. After 201 hours, 39 minutes and 43 seconds, two of the cars completed the 50,000 kilometers at an average speed of 247 km/hr, setting three world records and nine class records. Of equally impressive note is that no spare mechanical parts had to be used. Not quite a year later, at the opening of the Nurburgring Formula 1 circuit in 1984, there was a support race in identically-equipped 190Es. It was meant to be a sort of tongue-in-cheek affair, but the 190E 2.3-16 was developed to be a racer’s car and the participating drivers took it seriously. With no advantage coming from any given team’s performance or setup, it was a pure driver’s test. In it, a young Ayrton Senna beat not only his rivals in that season’s F1 championship but former champions such as Phill Hill, Jack Brabham, John Surtees, and Niki Lauda. It was in this race, in the 190E Cosworth, that Senna was first able to stamp his authority on an international stage and the rest is history. It was this kind of publicity that caught the attention of BMW, whose M Division would take the idea of a subcompact with serious track capabilities and develop its own version, which we now know as the E30 M3.

Today, while values of the M3 have soared to over $40,000 for a rather average example to near $60,000 for a high-quality one, the 190E 2.3-16 is mucking about in the teens—even less for higher-mileage cars requiring minimal attention. The disparity can’t really be explained rationally. Despite the 190E’s pedigree, on any given track, the M3 will likely be the faster car. It has 25 horses on the Cozzie and they’re roughly the same aerodynamically. It’s also true that when new, the Mercedes cost significantly more. But in the real world, nearly 30 years later, where original sticker price and lap times are tertiary, there simply isn’t a valid reason why the M3 is “worth” three to four times as much. And while we in the US weren’t fortunate to get the later 2.5 Cosworth or the Evo versions of either car, the rise in M3 values has taken place in the 2.3-litre US-spec cars. Nature has shown us that it is this sort of disturbance that makes for a brewing storm and the 190E 2.3-16 is poised to rise.