HWA Evo is a wild £730,000 comeback for a Mercedes-Benz icon

The first example of the HWA Evo restomod heads to auction next month. A modern reinterpretation of the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evo II – an outrageous homologation special from the 1990s – only 100 examples of the Evo will be made.

To own the very first car to leave HWA’s Affalterbach factory, buyers will need to bid in the RM Sotheby’s Tegernsee sale. 

Being held as part of the Concours of Elegance Germany event, the HWA Evo goes under the hammer on Saturday 27 July 2024.

A Mercedes-Benz retro racer reborn

Introduced in 1990, the Evo II version of the Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 was the ultimate incarnation of the German marque’s road racer. Only 502 examples of the original car were made, in order to homologate the competition version for the DTM championship.

With near-mythical status, it was perhaps only a matter of time before the 2.5-16 Evo II received the restomod treatment.

HWA won’t be a familiar name to most, but the company certainly isn’t a startup. Established in 1998 by Hans Werner Aufrecht, one of the founders of AMG, HWA has been responsible for building numerous Mercedes-Benz racing cars.

It makes the company perfectly placed to update the 2.5-16 Evo II, with expert engineers transforming a donor Mercedes-Benz 190E into a new HWA Evo.

Manual transmission included

HWA completely strips down the original Mercedes-Benz 190E, with new carbon fibre panels fitted to ensure a kerb weight of just 1,350kg. The car also features an integrated four-point roll cage, along with modern LED headlights and tail lights.

Instead of the Cosworth-developed engine used in the 2.5-16 Evo II, HWA fits a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6. With an output of 450hp, plus 406lb ft of torque, performance should be suitably ferocious. 

Fans of paddle-shift transmissions should look away now, however, as the HWA Evo comes with an old-school six-speed manual gearbox only.

DTM-spec suspension

The technical spec of the HWA Evo is  expected from a company skilled in producing racing cars. These include DTM-specification suspension, with double wishbones and electronically adjustable dampers. The front axle can be lifted by 30mm to help with the inconvenience of speed humps.

The car’s forged alloy wheels pay tribute to those found on the original 2.5-16 Evo II, but come in larger 19-inch and 20-inch sizes. Behind these are larger brakes with six-piston calipers at the front.

Inside, a pair of Recaro seats are fitted, complete with four-point harnesses. A modern climate control system will be included, along with a digital instrument panel and new navigation software.

Time to dig deep

Ahead of the RM Sotheby’s Tegernsee Auction, no guide price has been provided for HWA Evo chassis number 000. 

However, ordering one of the following 99 cars will cost a minimum of €714,000 before taxes – the equivalent of £730,000 with VAT for UK buyers.

HWA has already received a number of orders for the Evo, with the first deliveries to lucky customers expected by the end of 2025.

• John Redfern writes for Motoring Research