MERCEDES-BENZ

W201: Mercedes masterpiece turns 40

This year 2022, Mercedes-Benz celebrates the 40th anniversary of a very important model in its recent history, the W201 or Mercedes-Benz 190. The famous 'Baby Benz' celebrates four decades of existence, although its design is still quite current and cannot be seen as an authentic classic.

Anyway, the model was born on December 8, 1982, when Mercedes-Benz presented the W201 series, which is part of the history of the C Class, although this model family has only had this name since the year 1993. take a look at the history of the little Benz.

The Mercedes-Benz 190, which was never available in a station wagon body, started a completely new chapter in the history of the Stuttgart brand, as the W201 Series, at the time called the 'compact class', added a fourth product line alongside the luxury sedans such as the S Class, to the medium sedans (later the E Class) and the sports SL.

The brand already had plans to launch a small Mercedes-Benz since the 1950s, but the project was taken up again in 1973, when it was decided to develop a model below the rest of the house's products, which would later be dubbed 'Baby Benz. '. The impetus for this also came from the United States, where there was great interest in a model of this type, with the comfort and safety of a complete Mercedes-Benz.

In the early 1970s, the design of a compact Mercedes-Benz received another unexpected boost, the 'Clean Air Act', legislation to control air pollution introduced under the mandate of American President Jimmy Carter, which fixed the consumption of the fleet of vehicles from each manufacturer that were offered in the United States with the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard. For 1985, it was 27.5 miles per gallon (8.5 liters per 100 kilometers).

This posed a challenge for many car brands and also for Mercedes-Benz, as the model lineup that was offered in the United States, one of the most important export markets for the Germans, was situated in higher-end, high-performance segments, so that the consumption of the fleet was higher than the mentioned limit.

Thus, from an export market, pressure arises for the development of new models, more compact, therefore, also more efficient and with lower fuel consumption, with the sole purpose of reducing the average cost of the line.

In January 1974, the company's head of development, Hans Scherenberg, laid the foundations for this Mercedes-Benz. He formulated: “It is clear that it must be a typical Mercedes-Benz. Therefore, we cannot make too many compromises in terms of driving essence, safety and the corresponding Mercedes-Benz specific characteristics.”

The first specifications for the 201 series that he determined stipulated the following as early as February 4, 1974: “This product is not intended to penetrate the mid-range markets, where Opel and Ford have been operating for a long time, for example. Instead, the Tipo 201 intends to consciously differentiate itself from those by the characteristics that the customer expects under the brand symbol in relation to quality, safety and driving tradition.”

Werner Breitschwerdt, Scherenberg's successor as head of development from 1977, does not change these points out of conviction. It is a task that comes close to squaring the circle: the traditional values ​​of the Mercedes-Benz brand, such as comfort, safety, durability and reliability, until now perfectly implemented in all generations in larger vehicles. , must now be transferred to a compact vehicle, without restrictions. As an integral engineering task, it posed a considerable challenge.

When the new 201 series compact vehicles were presented to the world press in Sevilla, Spain, in November 1982, journalists' expectations were huge. And they weren't disappointed.

The first surprise came in the design. Under the direction of Bruno Sacco(next image), a vehicle was created that combines in equal parts independence and family legacy. In addition, the compact from Mercedes-Benz is characterized by a modern, no-frills design.

The W201 begins series production in Sindelfingen before production also begins at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen. The production facilities have been considerably expanded for the new model series. To date, the Bremen plant is the main factory for the C Class, which becomes the successor to the W201 with the introduction of the 202 series in 1993. Until August 1993, a total of 1,879,630 vehicles of the W201 series had been produced.

The W201, also known colloquially as the '190' or 'Baby Benz', celebrated its debut with two types of 4-cylinder gasoline engines: 190 is the name of the initial 90 hp, carbureted version. The 190 E with gasoline injection produced 122 hp.

From 1983, the 190 D (72 hp) became known as the 'whispering diesel' (by the standards of the time). From 1986 onwards, the 190 D 2.5 Turbo 5-cylinder (122 hp) was offered, as well as the 190 E 2.6 petrol, with a 6-cylinder engine and 166 hp (later catalyzed, with 160 hp). Then the engineers overcame the challenge of installing the M103 in the W201's engine bay.

With four-valve technology, the Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3-16 (185 hp) achieves sporting successes even before its presentation in autumn 1983: three prototypes set long-distance world records of 25,000 kilometers, 25,000 miles and 50,000 kilometers with average speeds of almost 250 km/h on the Nardò circuit in southern Italy.

The 190 E 2.3-16 also demonstrated its sporting prowess at the opening of the new Nürburgring circuit: 20 racing drivers opened the new track on May 12, 1984, with a race in this vehicle. The winner was the Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna, then recognized only among the most aficionados of the time.

The top model of the series is later the 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II (235 hp), with its huge and characteristic rear spoiler. It also forms the basis of successful racing models competing in the DTM from 1990 onwards. The triumphs of the Stuttgart brand in the German Touring Championship of the 80s and 90s are closely related to the W201: from 1988 to 1993, competition touring cars based on this series model were successfully entered into the DTM with the support of the factory.

During this period, Mercedes-Benz won two manufacturers' championships (1991 and 1992), and Klaus Ludwig became DTM champion in 1992 with a 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II. In addition, there were four runners-up and three third-place finishes. A legendary car, no doubt.

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