Mercedes-Benz W201

Encyclopedia : M : ME : MER : Mercedes-Benz W201

Mercedes 190D

''See also Mercedes-Benz 190 for other models sold with the same name

The Mercedes-Benz W201 was introduced in November 1982 as the Mercedes-Benz 190. £600 million was spent researching and developing this car with Mercedes-Benz acutely aware that a failure of this model could easily bring down the rest of their model range and ultimately the entire company’s reputation. By Mercedes-Benz's own admission, the 190 was 'massively over-engineered'. They were not interested in competing for one or two customers to switch from Ford or Rover, but for hundreds, even thousands, of customers suddenly to find a new side to Mercedes-Benz with a new image of family-oriented compact cars. These new customers were not wrong. The UK market was kept waiting up to 12 months longer than mainland Europe to get the 190s into the showrooms, and as soon as the vehicles arrived in showrooms, they were sold. Local 'red tape' in Bremen prevented MB from building the 190 there as they wanted, so production was started in Sindelfingen at a maximum capacity of just 140,000 units per year. Eventually after just the first year, Bremen was cleared for production of the 190 and these lines replaced the commercial vehicle lines at Bremen which included the first running modifications since its release. The 190 suffered upon the release of the Sportier and more powerful Saab 900, Audi 80 and BMW 3 series in 1987-1991.

The model was a single 4 door saloon/sedan body type which was designed to fill a hole in the model range below the W123 series. It was quickly dubbed "the Baby Benz". The Automatic option had far slower acceleration and this affected its Topspeed. The 2.3 model had a topspeed of 111mph. In Europe the petrol engine range included 2.0 L carbureted and injected engines, a 2.3 L, 2.6 L and finally a 1.8 L injected model during the last three years of production.

1983 also saw the first 190D models with a brand new engine which was 25 pounds lighter than the 2.0 petrol engine. This engine had uncommon ‘Crossflow’ cylinder heads, hydraulic tappets and a single belt driving all ancillaries, following the design of their petrol engines. Everything was readily accessible for servicing, and a thermostatically-controlled heating element prevented the diesel fuel from ‘waxing’ in cold temperatures and turning to jelly in the fuel lines. The sound had been reduced by 50% because of the three-piece capsule around the engine.

The 190 was in the small 'Sales Executive' class in the UK and Europe and was meant to rival the Audi 80, BMW 3 series and the Saab 900. However it was not as popular as the BMW as it did not have the "sporty" image and the Audi 80 and Saab 900 were cheaper, faster, and more modern looking.

High performance models were developed for rallying, but a change in the rules opened the door to 4 wheel drive models (Audi), and Mercedes choose not to redesign with the car and so turned their attention to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) motorsport series instead.

For the USA the engine range did not include the 1.8 L or 2.0 L petrol blocks, while the diesel engines were dropped after 1989. The 190E 2.3 version was dropped after 1988 and returned in 1991. 1993 marked the debut of the Limited Edition.

Production ended on May 5, 1993. About 1.8 million were produced. The C-Class replaced it in 1994.

190E 2.3-16 valve & 2.5-16 valve

This high performance version of Mercedes-Benz's smallest car debuted at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September 1983, after its reputation had already been established. Three cars, only slightly altered in cosmetic bodywork, had previously set three world records in August at Nardo, Italy. They recorded a combined average speed of (138.06 mph) over the endurance test of 50,000 km. Twelve international class endurance records were also established.

The body kit on the 2.3 16 and 2.5 16 reduced the drag coefficient to 0.32! One of the lowest cd values on a four door saloon of the time!

The heart of the 2.3-16 was its cylinder head, which was developed by Cosworth engineers. It was made from light alloy using Coscast's unique casting process with dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder (16 valves total), giving the performance version its "nickname". The 190E 2.3-16 consequently produced 72 hp (53 kW) and 41 ft·lbf (55 N·m) of torque more than the basic single overhead cam engine with only 2 valves per cylinder. The 2.3 L engine (designated the M102) produced 185 hp (137 kW) at 6,000 rpm and 174 ft·lbf (235 N·m) at 4,500 rpm. Acceleration from 0-100 km/h (62 mph) was 9 seconds, and the top speed was 230 km/h (140 mph). The larger 2.5 L engine replaced the 2.3 L in 1988 and increased output only by 10 hp (7.5 kW) without any additional torque.

The, now renamed, 190E 2.5-16 was available in four colours, Blue-Black metallic, Smoke Silver, Astral Silver and Almandine Red. For the European market the car delivered 204 bhp (150 kw). It also had the addition of an electronically controlled hydraulically locking differential which activates automatically when required. This action is indicated by a warning light on the speedometer which shows a flashing amber triangle! UK cars were not fitted with catalysts.

Concour's 2.5 16v http://www.mercedes190.co.uk/

The Evolution models

Back in the late 1970s, Mercedes competed in rallying with the big V8-powered Coupés of the R107 Series, mainly the light-weight Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0. The 190E 2.3-16v was originally designed to continue rallying, but the Audi Quattro with its all wheel drive and turbocharger and made it apparent that the 2.3-16v would not be competitive.

Thus, this car was released as a high powered luxury version. At the inauguration of the new, shorter Nürburgring in 1984, a race with identical cars was held, with former and current F1 pilots at the wheel. A rather unknown young driver named Ayrton Senna took First place in that race.

Private Teams such as AMG later entered the 2.3-16 in touring cars races, especially the DTM. In the late 1980s, the 2.5-16 (never released in the United States) lost several times, against the similar BMW M3 and even the turbocharged Ford Sierra Cosworth

However, it became obvious the 2.5-16 needed a boost. And one had to come soon with the debut of the BMW M3 Evo, Mercedes direct competitor. In March 1989, the 190E 2.5-16 Evolution debuted. This car had a redesigned engine allowing for 210 hp (156 kW), compared with 204 hp (150 kW) for the stock 2.5-16 and approx 185 hp (137 kW) for the 2.3-16, with a shorter stroke but with larger pistons. This car also had redesigned body parts, which included a new spoiler, wider wheel arches, and an unmistakable Evolution badge in both quarter panels. This variant of the 190E was by far the best of its kind, and only 502 units produced for homologation in compliance with DTM rules.

While the Evolution I model did quite well, engineers knew that the 190E could be improved more. In March 1990, at the Geneva Motor Show, The 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II was shown. With the success of the first Evolution model, this model's 502-unit production was already sold before it was unveiled. This car retailed in 1990 for US$80,000. First, power was upgraded to 235 hp (175 kW) by increasing the bore and stroke. Secondly, a radically designed body kit, with a large wing, rear window spoiler, and special Evolution II rims. That body kit served an aerodynamic purpose — it was wind tunnel tested to reduce drag to 0.29. One BMW executive was quoted saying "if that rear wing works, we'll have to redesign our wind tunnel."

Together with the BMW M3, which had far better sales worldwide, the 190E 2.5-16 continues to dominate the "Normally Aspirated cars up to 2500cc" class in endurance and 24 hour racing at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, as newer models from BMW and Honda are not designed to be as competitive as these two 1980s veterans.

External links

[Mercedes-Benz 190 forum]

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.