Mercedes-Benz 190 E 40-Year-Old That Drove At 154 MPH For 31,000 Miles Straight

Usually, when we classify cars as reliable, we think in terms of total mileage driven. If your 2002 Ford Focus managed 275,000 miles, it would be correct to say your car was reliable. If your 275,000-mile Focus also managed this feat without needing any major repairs like a transmission rebuild or needing its entire motor replaced, it deserves that title even more.
 

However, there are other ways to prove a car’s reliability. Mercedes-Benz knows this, as they put three 1983 190 E 2.3-16 sedans around the Nardo test track in Italy. Over the course of eight days, the three “Baby Benz” Mercs went around and around the ring, stopping only for essential maintenance and fuel. In the process, Mercedes-Benz proved their ability to create truly bulletproof cars.
 
How The 190 E Did It And Why
 
Quick Facts About The 1983 190 E’s Nardo Run
– Occurred in August 1983
– Three 190E 2.3-16s were involved
– The 190 Es involved were only lightly modified
– A total of 11 records were broken in the process
 
The inspiration for Merc’s decision to send three 190 Es around the Nardo ring was, in essence, failure. In the early 1980s, Mercedes-Benz was hard at work creating a car they could use in the World Rally Championship (WRC). However, while they were in the midst of the new Merc’s development, Audi shook the automotive world with the debut of the Quattro. The new Audi immediately began dominating the WRC, leaving Mercedes with the half-baked, rear-wheel drive 190 E, and the Benz bosses weren’t interested in competing in the WRC if they couldn’t possibly win.
 
So, the Merc motorsport head honcho, Erich Waxenberger, hatched a plan for the Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3-16. The car was already equipped with a Cosworth-designed 2.3-liter inline-four engine making 185 horsepower, so the 190 E’s bones were good for racing. Waxenberger wanted to prove to the world that the performance-oriented 190 E 2.3-16 was reliable, so a plan was struck to drive them flat-out around the Nardo ring for 50,000 kilometers, or roughly 31,000 miles.
 
On August 13, 1983, the record-breaking run commenced. The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), allowed only a few modifications to the three 190 Es tasked with this endurance run. The three cars were allowed only as many spare parts as could fit inside the car’s interior, and their flat-faced wheel openings were filled in to reduce drag. A large, endurance fuel tank was fitted, along with a slight alteration to each car’s gearing to increase the top speed. The three cars were differentiated on the track with green, white, and red markings.
 
The Details Of The 1983 190 E 2.3-16
Before we continue with our story, it’s important to flesh out the details regarding the 1983 190 E’s powerplant. As we touched on previously, its engine was designed with help from Cosworth, the England-based engine maker who also developed the fabled DFV V8. The DFV was above and beyond its time, as it raced in Formula One and other racing series for over two decades. In short, Cosworth knew what they were doing. Below, we’ll take a look at the 1983 Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3-16 specs in detail:
 
The 190 E 2.3-16 wasn’t always meant for the road. Originally, it was meant to compete in the WRC as we discussed earlier, and it was also meant to be turbocharged. However, once Merc’s prospective rally dreams were quashed by the Quattro, Mercedes turned their attention to the German Touring Car Championship (DTM). DTM required competitors to produce a road-going version of ther race cars, so the Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3-16 was released with a de-tuned motor.
 
On top of the 190 E 2.3-16’s Cosworth-bred heart, it also sported a few upgrades over the standard model. For starters, it boasted an aerodynamic kit, reducing its drag coefficient to 0.32 which, reportedly, was one of the best seen on a mass-market sedan at the time. It also had quicker steering and a larger, 70-liter fuel tank. A mechanical limited-slip differential was also included as standard.
 
Mercedes-Benz outfitted road-going 190 E 2.3-16s with a five-speed Getrag manual transmission featuring a dog-leg first gear, meaning first was left and down in the shift pattern, rather than left and up. This meant second and third gears were aligned back-to-front, which is an advantage in racing where first gear is hardly ever used. In addition to its mechanical improvements, Mercedes also outfitted the 190 E 2.3-16’s interior with bolstered seats for both front and rear passengers. Extra gauges were fitted showing oil temperature, voltage, and a stop watch. Despite the race-ready accouterments, Mercedes still peppered the interior with luxurious amenities such as leather, wooden trim, and air-conditioning.
 

How Our Three Heroes Got On Around Nardo
As soon as the record run started, the three 190 E 2.3-16s quickly made their way to the uppermost lane on the banked Nardo ring and reached their approximate top speed of 154 mph. Officials representing Mercedes-Benz and the FIA all watched things unfold intently, ensuring the record-breaking attempts were going smoothly and according to the rules.
 
Over the course of the 8.5-day run, only one failure occurred which wasn’t already planned for. The green car suffered a failure of its distributor arm, which spins inside the distributor and “distributes” spark to each of the motor’s four ignition wires. Some ingenuity was required to fix the issue, as the required part was omitted due to the unlikelihood of its failure. The green car also struck a fox at some point during their run, yet the Merc kept on trucking.
 
On August 21, 1983, the green Merc crossed the proverbial finish line first, having completed 50,000 kilometers at an average speed of 247 km/h, or 153.5 mph. The endurance run took 201 hours, 39 minutes, and 43 seconds, during which time all three cars broke records for 25,000 km endurance and 50,000 km endurance runs. Another nine class-specific records were set, as well.
 
What’s So Special About The Nardo Ring?
For one thing, it’s huge. It was built by Fiat in 1975,originally called Pista di prova di Nardò della Fiat, and it’s seen loads of records broken for several vehicle segments and classes. In total, the ringed circuit spans 7.8 miles and is perfectly circular, with one banked side. To put its size into perspective, the Nardo Ring can be clearly seen from space. If cars are able to reach a certain speed, no steering input is required to keep them up on the bank.
 
The ring has been so integral to automobile innovation, Volkswagen even named one of their W12 prototypes after the ring, as it was speed tested there numerous times. Koenigsegg took their debut supercar, the CCR, to Nardo for its top speed run, where it reached 241 mph. Bugatti has also used the track, most famously when a Bugatti Veyron prototype crashed at 247 mph, with the driver, Loris Bicocchi, escaping with only minor injuries. As of 2012, the ring has been owned by Porsche, having bought it from an engineering firm by the name of Prototipo SPa.