The Mercedes-Benz W201 was the last incarnation of the Mercedes-Benz 190 nameplate. It was a sports sedan/compact executive car produced by the Mercedes-Benz division of Daimler-Benz. It was replaced in 1993 by the C-Class. Dubbed "the Baby Benz", the W201-based 190 was the most affordable model in the marque's lineup, being designed to fill the gap in the range below the W123, the equivalent of a modern Mercedes E-class. Amongst the items that were a first for Mercedes was the 190's patented 5-link suspension at the rear, used in subsequent E- and C- class models, and developments used today in Mercedes road cars. It had front and rear anti-roll bars, and anti-dive, anti-squat geometry. The 190 was available with airbags, ABS brakes and seatbelt tensioners, and other advanced safety features.
£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 the entire company’s reputation. Mercedes-Benz later said the 190 was 'massively over-engineered'. The W201-based 190 was introduced in November 1982. The UK market was kept waiting up to 12 months longer than mainland Europe in order to stimulate sales. Local 'red tape' in Bremen (which produced commercial vehicles at the time) prevented Daimler-Benz from building the 190 there, so production was started in Sindelfingen at a capacity of just 140,000 units per year. Eventually after just the first year, Bremen was cleared for production of the 190, replacing its commercial vehicle lines, and there the 190 was built with the first running modifications since release.
175.1 in (4448 mm)
1988-1990 Base: 175.0 in (4445 mm) 1982–1993
1,874,668 built [1] Assembly Bremen, Germany
Sindelfingen, Germany Successor Mercedes-Benz C-Class Class Compact executive car Body style(s) 4-door saloon Layout FR layout Engine(s) 1.8L 8v I4 - 2.0L 8v I4 - 2.3L 8v I4 - 2.3L 16v I4 - 2.5L 16v I4
Engine
The Cosworth engine was based on the 2.3-liter 8-valve 136 hp (101 kW) unit already fitted to the 190- and E-Class series. Cosworth developed the cylinder head, "applying knowledge we've learnt from the DFV and BDA".It was made from light alloy using Coscast's unique casting process and brought with it dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, meaning 16 valves total which were developed to be the "largest that could practically be fitted into the combustion chamber".
In roadgoing trim the 190 E 2.3-16 produced 49 hp (36 kW) and 41 ft·lbf (55 N·m) of torque over the basic single overhead cam 2.3 I4 engine on which it was based.
The 2.3 L 16 valve engine made "185 hp (137 kW) at 6,200 rpm and 174 ft·lbf (235 N·m) at 4,500 rpm, the oversquare 95.50 x 80.25 mm bore and stroke dimensions ensuring that it revs easily up to the 7000 rpm redline".
Acceleration from 0–100 km/h (62 mph) was less than eight seconds, and the top speed was 230 km/h (143 mph). US-Specification cars had a slightly reduced compression ratio (9.7:1 instead of 10.5:1), and were rated at 167 hp (125 kW) @ 5800 rpm and 162 lb·ft (220 N·m) @ 4750.
The roadgoing version of the engine was reconfigured with reduced inlet and exhaust port sizes, different camshaft profiles, no dry sump configuration and Bosch K-jetronic replacing the specialised Kugelfischer fuel injection.
These changes helped bring power down to the required 185 bhp (138 kW) specification, but still resulted in a "remarkably flexible engine, with a very flat torque curve and a wide power band". The heads for the engines were cast at Cosworth's Coscast foundry in Worcester and sent to Germany to be fitted to the rest of the engine, parts of which were different from the standard 2.3 including light pressed alloy pistons, and rings designed to withstand higher engine speeds, whilst con-rods, bearings and bearing caps were found to be strong enough as standard and left unaltered.
2.6L I6
Diesel 2.0L - 2.5L Non-Turbo
Diesel 2.5L Turbo Transmission(s) 4-speed automatic
4-speed manual
5-speed manual Wheelbase 104.9 in (2664 mm) Length 175.1 in (4448 mm)
1988-1990 Base: 175.0 in (4445 mm) Width 1988-1990: 66.1 in (1679 mm)
1991-93 : 66.5 in (1689 mm) Height 1988-1990: 54.7 in (1389 mm)
1991-93 : 54.1 in (1374 mm)
