This $800K Mercedes 190E Evo Restomod Will Actually Race at the Nurburgring 24H

The Drive

19-06-2025

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It's easy to get cynical about restomods. HWA's reimagined Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evo II, for example, looks incredible. But it also costs just short of $800,000, and there's been no shortage of projects like it as of late, taking collector cars that already demand top dollar under the knife for a guaranteed profit. HWA, though, is coming at this from a different angle. The 190E Evo II wasn't just a '90s performance icon—it was a race car proven on Europe's greatest tracks by HWA itself, which managed Mercedes' DTM program. In that tradition, the company has decided to do the same with its new Evo, and will campaign two examples in next year's Nürburgring 24 Hours race.
The cars will compete in the race's SP-X class, which is reserved for vehicles that don't adhere to any criteria. While HWA hasn't said who will drive them, Roland Asch and Klaus Ludwig, who are also no strangers to Mercedes touring cars, will help develop them on the Nordschleife. The cars' 'appropriate modifications in performance, weight, and safety systems' will be detailed at a later date, HWA said in a press release.
HWA rolled out a liveried Evo for the announcement, paying homage to the Sonax-sponsored machines that it campaigned in the early '90s. Ludwig drove a 190E that looked similar to the 1992 DTM title. The new rendition looks good, but I always preferred the version of this scheme with silver and red, rather than the flat white. It's unclear if this is how the cars will look on race day next year, but for what it's worth, the Evo cleans up surprisingly well in bright sage, too. Driver Klaus Ludwig poses with an HWA Evo prototype. Gruppe C Photography/HWA
The HWA Evo incorporates a three-liter, twin-turbo V6 making 444 horsepower and 405 lb-ft of torque, mated to a six-speed transaxle. To make one, HWA receives an original 190E Cosworth donor and guts it, stripping it down to its bare chassis before washing it in a chemical bath and rebuilding everything from there. The suspension is double-wishbone with electronically adjustable dampers all around, the body is carbon fiber, and the final article weighs 2,980 pounds.
HWA has already started building these and is only planning to make 100, total. There are apparently still a few build slots left, per this latest bulletin from the company, so you haven't missed your chance. And if you want to tune in for this year's Nürburgring 24 Hours, it kicks off Saturday at 10 a.m. Eastern.
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