Mercedes-Benz 190 E 31,000-Mile Endurance Run World Record

The hottest modern Mercedes-Benz may wear the AMG badge, but 40 years ago, the German automaker was already churning out performance cars without the help of Affalterbach. In 1983, a Mercedes-Benz 190 E – the predecessor of the C-Class -covered a distance of more than 50,000 kilometers (31,068 miles) at the Nardo Circuit in Italy in eight days.
 

This incredible feat set three world and nine class records. And it’s one of the many milestones Mercedes-Benz and its fans want to celebrate this year.
 
The Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3-16 was the performance model in the W201 series. It powered around the banked curves of Nardo, equipped with a 2.3-liter inline-four engine with a Cosworth-developed cylinder head. Churning out around 185 horsepower, it’s not as powerful as the 190 E Evo II with AMG PowerPack.
 
But it made BMW sit up and take notice, and that’s how the M3 was born.
 

Mercedes-Benz brought three identical cars to the circuit; each was color-coded (green, red, and white) for identification. The green color-coded vehicle is currently on display at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany.
 
The fastest of the three (a 190 E 2.3-16) finished the endurance run in 201 hours, 39 minutes, and 43 seconds (from August 13-21) with an average speed of 154 mph. The cars were running with a daytime temperature of 104 degrees Fahrenheit outside and over 122 degrees Fahrenheit inside the cabin.
 

The cars regularly came to the pit for a driver change, refueling, and window cleaning. But every 17,000 km (10,563 miles), longer pit stops were conducted, servicing/replacing the components, including tires, oil, oil filter, and spark plugs.
 
Fun fact: The cars ran without a reverse gear to save weight.
 
The BMW E30 M3 may be more popular than the 190 E 2.3-16. But the latter did the unthinkable and also deserves some recognition for that. Around a month after the record-setting endurance drive, the latter made its first public appearance at the International Motor Show (IAA). Rivaling automaker BMW responded with the M3 E30 in 1986.