The Mercedes 190 Evo 2 has a 2.5-liter engine with 235 PS. An American tuner has built a sensational replica equipped with a Ford Raptor V6 engine with at least 456 PS.
Foto: Tucci Hot Rods
The Mercedes 190 Evo 2 is a highly sought-after collector’s car. Not necessarily for its power, which is only 235 PS, but for its exclusivity with only 502 examples being built, and its success in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) in the 1990s. Today, a Mercedes 190 Evo 2 sells for between €300,000 and €400,000 on specialized car classic websites.
An American tuner had the idea of building a Mercedes 190 Evo replica. Its name is Tucci Hot Rods and it was founded in 1996 by Dave Tucci and his wife Jill. In the introduction video on the official website, Dave Tucci says “We are not afraid to take crazy projects”. Dave works with his son Dominik, who is an industrial designer by profession. Dominik says in the same presentation movie that he “practically grew up in the service department”.
As 190 Evo 2 models are very rare and expensive, the Tucci family picked up a standard American-spec Mercedes 190 in generally pretty poor condition. Therefore, the father and son did a lot of work on the bodywork to restore it and then fitted the widebody body kit which provided a similar look to the 190 Evo 2. Also not missing is the famous rear wing that makes the 190 Evo 2 stand out.
But collectors will realize that this is not an original 190 Evo 2 as Tucci chose to mount the dual exhaust pipes in the center position instead of the left rear, and the car is painted in Blue Metallic while the 190 Evo 2 was only available in Blue Black metallic (code 199).
But these are details. The big surprise is the engine under the hood and it confirms Dave Tucci’s motto “We are not afraid to take crazy projects”. It’s a 3.5-liter V6 from Ford Performance similar to the one used in the Ford Raptor that develops 456 PS in the sporty pickup. But in the replica 190 Evo 2, this engine develops even more power as it has been modified by HP Tuners. The intercoolers and radiators come from Mishimoto Automotive and the exhaust components come from Borla.
Thus, the replica develops double the power of the original and that’s why extensive modifications to the body strength structure were necessary.
The rear axle and the rear subframe come from the post-2015 Subaru WRX STi, and to install the new subframe almost the entire transverse structure of the 190 was removed. Therefore, to improve body rigidity, Tucci welded additional tubes into the chassis structure.
The engine is mated to a five-speed manual transmission supplied by Tremec, the suspension comes from specialist QA1, and the braking system is supplied by Wilwood with 355 mm front discs with six-piston calipers and 330 mm rear discs with four-piston calipers.The replica 190 Evo 190 runs on 18-inch wheels from Fifteen52 that resemble the original, shod with 255/35 R18 Toyo Proxes R888R tires.
The replica’s interior has been modified and features Recaro Classic LX Classic seats, a Vintage Air climate control system tuned for the 190, an MB Quart audio system, and an MPI Autodromo steering wheel.
We don’t know the performance and price of this restomod but this replica offers similar power to the HWA Evo, which will debut this year with 450 PS in only 100 examples and priced at €714,000 plus VAT.