Mercedes Benz took their small, 3 Series fighter, the 190, and dropped a 2.3 liter, DOHC, head designed by Cosworth, engine into it. The engine developed 185 HP, good enough to bring the car to 60 in a around 7.5 seconds. It has a top speed of 145 MPH.
The rest of the car was close to stock 190. There were some ground effects added and a spoiler on the trunk. The suspension was lowered slightly and the standard transmission was a "dogleg" 5 speed.Famously, when MB introduced these cars, they did a very public endurance test. They drove three 2.3-16's around the Nardo test track in Italy. They drove a little over 31,000 miles at an average speed of 154 MPH (obviously these cars didn't have the 145 MPH limited top speed). The cars performed flawlessly (one went down for a short time with a distributor problem, I believe).
These are interesting cars as used cars. The standard 190, while a sales success for MB, has not held its value well. For quite awhile the 2.3-16 - because it's based on the 190 - sold for very little money. Now, as people realize just how good these cars are, the prices are starting to rise, but with little rhyme or reason. In researching this post I found two being offered at over $17,000.00 (good luck with that) and many in the $5K - $6K range.This one is priced at $3800.00 or best offer. It has a lot of miles on it, but appears to gave been well maintained. It does needs a little work, but none of what it needs will prevent you from enjoying the car the minute you take delivery of it.
Located in Martinez, GA, click here to see the eBay listing.