There were only 502 examples produced and now the 168th unit from the 502 built is being auctioned by Sotheby’s auction house -estimated price: between $325,000 and 375,000.
In recent years, the price of youngtimer sports models from Mercedes has increased exponentially. These include the Mercedes 190 EVO II and the Mercedes CLK DTM AMG. The website www.classic.com which records all transactions of classic cars shows an average price of around $300,000 but restored examples in good condition have sold for more than $400,000, culminating with a value of $544,000 for an example sold in November 2023 at a Las Vegas auction.
Now, Sotheby’s auction house is offering for sale a Mercedes 190 EVO2 2.5-16 Mercedes 190 EVO II with chassis number WDB201036361F73636128, which is the 168th example of the 502 units produced.
The car was delivered to a dealer in Gordola, near Lake Maggiore in July 1990 who sold it on April 1, 1991, and the car was registered in Lugano. The first owner kept the car for 10 years, during which time it covered less than 4,000 km per year, before ending up in a Dutch private collection in 2002 where it sat for the next 16 years.
In 2016 the car, painted in blue-black metallic, was bought by specialist Mechatronik who checked it over and replaced what was needed with OEM parts. In November 2018, the car ended up in a Mercedes-Benz dealer’s preeminent collection of post-war Mercedes-Benz models in America, by which time it had about 39,000 km on board (24,233 miles).
The estimated selling price is between $325,000 and $375,000 (300,000 to 345,000 euros), which is slightly above average. Having the car checked and serviced by Mechatronik, is a guarantee that the vehicle is in good technical condition.
The car is available at Sotheby’s auction in Monterey on August 15-17, 2024.
Mercedes 190 EVO II 2.5-16 has under the hood a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine developing 235 PS/7,200 rpm which revs up to 7,800 rpm. Maximum torque of 245 Nm is available between 5,000 and 6,000 rpm. Thanks to a shorter rear axle gear ratio, the Mercedes 190 EVO II accelerates from 0 to 100 kph in 7.1 seconds, with a power-to-weight ratio of 5.7 kg/PS (curb weight is 1,340 kg). The EVO II rides on 17-inch alloy wheels, has Brembo brakes with four-piston calipers, and features an aggressive aerodynamics kit.
The base version costs DM 109,440 while the Comfort package version costs DM 119,717, similar in price to an S-Class of the time. But while the price of an S-Class of that era has dropped a lot, a Mercedes 190 EVO II today sells for 6-7 times more than in 1990.
