Back in the late 1970s, Mercedes competed in rallying with the big V8-powered Coups of the R107 Series, mainly the light-weight Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0. Mercedes wished to take the 190 E rallying, and asked British race car engineering company Cosworth to develop an engine for the rally car. During this time, the Audi Quattro with its all wheel drive and turbocharger was launched and made it apparent that the 2.3-16v would not be competitive. With a continued desire to compete in high-profile motorsport with the 190, and also now an engine to do it with, Mercedes turned to the German Touring Car Championship motorsport series instead. Cars racing in this championship, however, had to be based on a road going model. Mercedes therefore had to put into series production a 190 fitted with a detuned version of the Cosworth engine. This high performance model was known as the 190 E 2.3-16, and debuted at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September 1983, after its reputation had already been established. Three cars, only slightly cosmetically altered, had set three world records in August at the Nardo testing facility in Italy, recording a combined average speed of 154.06 mph (247.94 km/h) over the 50,000 km endurance test, and establishing twelve international endurance records.This particular car has had over $13,000 invested in it in the past few years. Included in this is a complete engine rebuild, all new A/C system, new interior, new radiator and much more. Almost all of this work was done by Duncan's European Automotive in Londonderry New Hampshire. Finished in Black Pearl, the paint is in very good condition with no major imperfections to be found. There are some spots of touch up, mainly on the hood and front fenders. These are all just small rock chips. The front and rear bumpers are both in good condition and show no damage. Smoked taillights have been added in the rear as well as clear signals in the front which look great. Inside, the seats have all been reupholstered and show very minimal wear. The dash is new as well as the carpet which looks great. There has been an updated stereo system installed in the car which works with no problems. All of the wood trim in the center console looks great with no cracking or peeling. Power windows all work as well as all lights, blinkers, wiper and A/C which blows cold. The wood, push button control unit, vacuum line couplings, vents, instrument cluster light, dash filler panels and wiring is all new. Under the hood, the famous 16 valve Cosworth 4 cylinder runs great. It went though a complete rebuild in March of 2006. All internals of the motor were replaced as well as the timing chain. This alone was a $2,900 service. Connected to the 5 speed gearbox, this car is a blast to drive. The Getrag 5-speed manual gearbox was unique to the 16 valve and featured a racing gear pattern with 'dog-leg' first gear, left and down from neutral. This meant that the remaining 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th gears were in a simple H pattern allowing fast and easy selection. On the road, this is an extremely well balanced car and is an absolute blast to drive. There was a lot of money was invested in this car and it shows when you get behind the wheel. Road & Track recently picked this car as one of the 10 most collectable modern classics. That mean's prices on these little Mercedes' aren't going to stay cheap for long. With only 700 of these car's made this year, there aren't many of them that come on the market, especially in this kind of condition. VIN number is WDBDA34D6HF315096 and the current mileage shows 189,006.