Antique car
Mercedes 190 – Cultural Revolution with the Baby Benz
Mercedes 190 E Elektro
© press-inform – the press office
With the 190, Mercedes offered a compact sedan for beginners for the first time – at first the small Mercedes was not taken seriously. But with its driving performance, it was able to convince almost two million buyers.
In the 1960s, Mercedes only wanted to build big cars, the margin in the luxury class was so tempting. Then came the BMW 3 Series in 1975. He proved that large quantities could only be achieved if prices got a little cheaper. In addition, the oil crisis forced a rethink. In 1974 the specifications for the compact sedan were laid down. Two things were crucial: There could be no compromises when it came to safety. And indeed, the 190 was spared such a debacle as the later A-Class, which tipped over in the so-called moose test.
High standards
And then the compact should be cheaper, but still transport the dignified Mercedes feeling – not an easy task. “You will be measured against the S-Class,” Werner Breitschwerdt, head of technology and later CEO, told his team. Mercedes took a lot of money and know-how into their hands. In order to be able to stand up to the chassis of the 3 Series, the independent multi-link rear axle was further developed.
The interior looks a bit sparse today, but with its straight lines and selected luxury elements, it reflected the practicality that was fashionable at the time. Only the rear seats suffered noticeably from the size of the vehicle. The 190 was no longer a chauffeur car. The wedge-shaped design came from Bruno Sacco, who brought the game with trapezoidal edges from the futuristic prototype C 111 to the compact class. The concept was called “diamond cut”. Against the background of the oil crisis – the climate crisis was still unknown at the time – consumption played a major role. The drag coefficient was only 0.33, which is a very good value for a car with a reduced frontal area. Added to this was the consistent lightweight construction. The 190 only weighed around 1100 kilograms. That was only possible with meticulous work on the details. The oil cap was made of plastic, which weighed 41 grams.
Relative expensive
Low weight led to brisk driving performance – measured by the standards of the time. The basic versions had an in-line four-cylinder (M102) installed. The Mercedes 190 had 90 hp and reached an impressive top speed of 175 km/h, the 190 E with 122 hp was only 5 km/h below the 200 km mark. When the Mercedes 190 was presented at the end of 1982, the press was enthusiastic about the Baby Benz and BMW was impressed, but customers were initially skeptical. With a price starting at 25,538 German marks, the 190 was quite expensive. Particularly bad, the larger Mercedes W123 series cost little more. The car salesmen had to reorient themselves. So far, Mercedes sedans have been allocated according to delivery time, but now buyers of the 190 had to be convinced.
Image through motorsport
Only new engines such as the Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 V with 185 hp or a whisper diesel in the 190D changed that. In addition there were spectacular actions to prove the long-term quality, the 190 E 2.3-16 was beaten 50,000 kilometers over the high-speed test track in Nardo. He set the record time of 201 hours, 39 minutes and 43 seconds. Racing legends such as Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Jack Brabham, former title holders Phil Hill, John Surtees, Denny Hulme, James Hunt, Jody Scheckter, former Mercedes works drivers Hans Herrmann and Stirling Moss and a young Brazilian named Ayrton Senna sat at the Tax.
1988 saw the first facelift, which got the infamous plastic planks stapled to the sides. Under the hood, performance continued to increase. Notorious is the 204 hp 190E 2.5-16 Evolution, which is produced in a limited edition of 500 units. This was followed by the Evo II with a huge rear spoiler and 235 hp. At the end of the series came the Mercedes 190 E 3.2 AMG with 234 hp in 1992. By August 1993, 1879,629 Mercedes 190s had been built. But there were also models that never went into series production and were only on the road as prototypes. About the topless version of the Mercedes 190.