30 years ago during the Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz launched an impressive performance saloon: the Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II.
The car, usually referred to by its fans simply as the “EVO II”, was built in just 502 units, the right amount of examples for the homologation of the DTM variant.
The street model used a 2.5 liter engine which was able to deliver 235 horsepower. Compared to the Evo I, which was unveiled in 1989, the new Evo II got an impressive aerodynamic accessory: the rear wing.
On the DTM car, the engine was maxed out to 373 horsepower and soon after the launch of the motorsport version, the car turned into a real success. The first race of the new Evo II was on 6 June 1990 on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring. For the last DTM race of the season, on 15 October 1990 at the Hockenheimring, all the works teams were equipped with the EVO II.
The first victory was achieved on 5 August 1990 by Kurt Thiim. In 1991, Klaus Ludwig became DTM runner-up in the EVO II, and in 1992, he won the DTM drivers’ championship. In the same season, the EVO II won 6 of a total of 24 DTM races.
