'Furious' HWA Evo edges closer to reality
The Mercedes 190 Evo II of your wildest dreams should be here in 2025 - form an orderly queue
We’ve all seen how awesome an E30 M3 restomod can be, courtesy of Redux, so it was only a matter of time before the Mercedes 190E received a similar treatment. You might have heard of the HWA Evo, given HWA is an Affalterbach-based race team and the 190 Evo is one of the most legendary homologation saloons ever - and now there are proper images of what 100 lucky customers stand to receive. It’s spectacular to say the very least.
Described by HWA as a ‘furious reinterpretation of the legendary Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evo II’, the most obvious point to note is that the Evo most still certainly looks like the base car. No backdating or reimagining going on here, it’s just the best the greatest 190E can be with the help of 21st-century technology. So there are some snazzier lights (and no more Mercedes badges), but also bigger wheels and brakes, wider tracks, a lower ride height and so on. The more you look at the Evo, in fact, the more it makes the wild original look almost timid. HWA says that the Evo will be made ‘using state-of-the-art technology in terms of powertrain, performance, chassis, brakes, aerodynamics and safety’, though hasn’t yet confirmed any specs. It’ll have to be pretty serious, surely, to back up the aesthetic.
HWA plans to make 100 examples, which we’d have to assume might be built from less exotic 190Es; only 500 Evo IIs were ever made, so chopping up 20 per cent of them for the restomod cause surely isn’t viable. Particularly as the last one we wrote about was almost £200k. That being said, HWA has stated an asking price of 714,000 euros plus VAT for an Evo, which is currently £613,000, plus the 20 per cent - let’s call it £750,000 to be sure. Maybe they are starting with the real deal, then.
Martin Marx, CEO of HWA, said: "Thanks to our company's long tradition, we see the HWA EVO as a flagship project into which we can incorporate all our experience and know-how. This further milestone is a demonstration of our capabilities and raises the bar to a new level so that we are optimally prepared for future tasks." It is a lot of money, yes, though there really must be no company better placed in the world than HWA to make the ultimate 190E. And undoubtedly a lot of affection for the W201 remains. HWA is collaborating with Miami-based Curated to work on sales and distribution, which gives a good hint at the target market, with deliveries set to begin at the end of next year. Wonder if the fortunate hundred will be allowed any other colour…
As for pricing, it just seems these companies make it up as they go along and pull some huge figure out of mid air.
No specs at all but £750k.
Yeah OK...
Dunno how potential buyers of this stuff decide whether their "new race car with an old body" is actually going to bear any relation to the original.
As others have said it's an awful lot of money without knowing any specifications. I'd rather go to MST for a new build rally Escort at £100k
Dunno how potential buyers of this stuff decide whether their "new race car with an old body" is actually going to bear any relation to the original.
If you're updating everything then what's the point of chopping up a "real" EVO.
If you don't at least chop up a "real" EVO as your starting point then what right or sense do you have to call it an EVO, besides the cash-in value of the reflected glory?
Dunno how potential buyers of this stuff decide whether their "new race car with an old body" is actually going to bear any relation to the original.
If you're updating everything then what's the point of chopping up a "real" EVO.
If you don't at least chop up a "real" EVO as your starting point then what right or sense do you have to call it an EVO, besides the cash-in value of the reflected glory?
Full AMG powertrain and parts, service at your local dealer/aftermarket, worldwide appeal and easy usability. Talk to Merc they might even be happy to warrant the thing or add you as a specialist sub division, not like you're treading on AMGs business that hard.
Also, for those who aren't aware of it: HWA is the company of the original AMG co-founder. AMG built the CLK GTR and is also the supplier of the Pagani Huayra R engine. I think that warrants the high price of the car.
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