Following the global unveiling of its new HWA EVO super saloon earlier this year, world-leading motorsport and automotive engineering firm HWA AG (HWA) has shared further in-depth details of its cutting-edge supercar.
Built from the ground up, the HWA EVO is true to the ethos of the legendary Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 EVO II. Limited to just 100 production examples, the HWA EVO is enhanced to provide a contemporary, ultra-focussed driving experience through the empathetic application of the latest materials and technology, allied to the most advanced design, engineering, and manufacturing techniques.
Each HWA EVO build begins with a hand-selected Mercedes-Benz W201 donor vehicle stripped back to its original steel chassis before being inspected and prepared to meet HWA’s strict quality criteria. However, extensive modifications are made even at this early stage to achieve modern performance and safety standards.
The donor vehicle’s front and rear portions are removed and replaced with new motorsport-grade aluminium and high-strength steel subframes designed in-house by HWA. This not only ensures contemporary impact performance and unprecedented safety in a car of this type but also allows the suspension to be mounted directly to the new chassis structure, creating a rigid platform for maximum handling precision and driver feedback.
The chassis is further modified to allow the 3.0-litre bi-turbo V6 powerplant to be mounted as low and as far back as possible: the front axle is moved forward by 50mm, ancillary components are repositioned, and the six-speed manual transmission relocated to the rear. This front-mid-engined, transaxle layout enables a targeted 50/50 weight distribution for motorsport-derived handling characteristics.
The retained steel midsection – including the A, B and C pillars – is then extensively reinforced, ensuring energy is effectively channelled through the new, rigid structure. In contrast to the original W201 donor car, the HWA EVO now boasts more than double the torsional stiffness, comparable to a state-of-the-art production supercar. In all, approximately 75% of the original car is replaced before the complete chassis is electro, or KTL (Kathodische Tauchlackierung), coated for
OEM-level corrosion protection.
With the chassis prepared, engineers can begin assembling the additional components that contribute to the HWA EVO’s formidable performance. While HWA leverages its extensive expertise to manufacture multiple bespoke components, including DTM-derived wishbones, billet-machined wheel carriers, and various suspension parts, the company also leverages longstanding relationships with industry-leading partners to ensure cutting-edge performance.
Brembo supplies two brake options, steel and carbon ceramic, which minimise rotating mass and unsprung weight. KW dampers, manually or electronically adjustable depending on vehicle specification, are custom designed for the HWA EVO. The suspension’s kinematic nature also enables camber optimisation under intense driving conditions, with stability further strengthened by anti-roll bars from H&R.
Regarding handling and stability, HWA’s extensive re-engineering work does not stop with physical components alone. The company is taking the unprecedented step of working with Bosch to develop its own ESP system, incorporating ABS activation, as well as creating a bespoke ECU.
Full carbon bodywork is fitted to the re-engineered chassis and frame to appropriately cap such an exceptional commitment to engineering detail. The bespoke mouldings not only include individual sections such as the doors and roof but unprecedented single structures that encapsulate the entire front and rear ends of the vehicle.
Manufacturing these areas as a single form is highly challenging, but it allows for the bodywork to take on a structural element, contributing to the finished car’s exceptional rigidity while enabling its remarkably light kerb weight.
Throughout the process, motorsport precision is balanced with real-world reliability, durability, comfort, and safety. In addition to intensive simulation programmes, physical crash tests are conducted to ensure optimum occupant protection standards.
From a production run strictly limited to 100 units, nearly all examples of this homage to an iconic super saloon have already been reserved.