Project 190 is the home of 190E culture — purist restorations, Cosworth 2.3-16 & 2.5-16 Evos, bagged dailies, AMG and Rieger style. The world's cleanest W201 builds, from the UK to Tokyo.
From 1982 to 1993, Mercedes-Benz built what they called a compact executive — the 190E. Engineers called it the W201, enthusiasts call it the Baby Benz, and we call it the last car Mercedes truly over-engineered. Project 190 documents the full spectrum of 190E culture — the purists, the racers, the air-ride scene, the JDM imports, and everyone keeping the chassis alive.
From the 1982 Stuttgart launch to the final 1993 example off the Bremen line — the milestones that made the W201 a legend.
Mercedes-Benz launches the W201 — the smallest Benz in decades. Bruno Sacco's team draws a 4.42-metre saloon that looks like a scaled-down S-Class. The press calls it the "Baby Benz."
Three Cosworth-developed 16-valve 190Es run flat-out for 50,000 km at Italy's Nardò ring, breaking long-distance world records. The road car launches at Frankfurt.
The 2.3-16 is replaced by the 2.5-16. New cams, bigger displacement, and a sharper focus on DTM homologation.
Aero-tweaked bodywork, wider tracks, and a short-stroke engine spec'd for DTM. Just 502 units — exactly enough to meet homologation rules.
235 hp, aggressive Aerodyne bodykit, towering rear wing, AMG-developed aero. The most iconic W201 ever built.
Klaus Ludwig drives the 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II to the DTM title. The W201 cements its place in racing history.
After more than 1.8 million examples, the W201 is replaced by the W202 C-Class. But the cult of the 190 has only just begun.
When Mercedes-Benz asked Cosworth to wake the M102 four-cylinder up, nobody knew it would launch a homologation arms race with BMW. These are the cars that did it.
Evolution II
AMG aero, towering rear wing, 235 hp from a 2.5-litre four. The W201 at its most extreme — and the basis for the DTM championship car.
The one that started it. A Cosworth twin-cam 16-valve head on the M102 — 185 hp in Euro tune. Limited-slip diff, sport suspension, discreet body addenda.
More displacement, more torque, smoother delivery than the 2.3-16. The basis for everything that followed — the sweet spot for road use.
Short-stroke 2.5-litre, lighter materials, wider arches, deeper front splitter. 502 cars to take the fight to BMW in the DTM.
The one. Aerodyne bodywork developed in the wind tunnel, that unmistakable rear wing, AMG-tuned suspension. 502 future six-figure collectibles.
Cosworth handled the head; AMG and the wind tunnel handled the rest. Wider arches, a deeper splitter, side skirts and that towering rear wing — the W201's transformation, in motion.
A loop. Wider tracks, lowered stance, tea-tray wing, splitter, side skirts — the AMG & Cosworth recipe that turned the W201 into a DTM weapon.
Featured 190s from every corner of the world. Tap through to the interactive atlas.
A rolling shortlist of our favourite W201 builds — restorations, Cosworth icons, JDM imports and beyond.
Daily features from the UK, Europe, Japan, and the USA.
Deep-dives into the W201 chassis — buyer's guides, model histories, technical walk-throughs and full features.
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The members documenting their W201s the hardest — ranked by builds and build-log activity.
