A Fitting Home for a Modern DTM Legend
The Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II is no ordinary W201 sedan. This was a DTM homologation special, with just 502 road cars ever built. That makes it one of the rarest, most sought-after Mercedes performance machines out there. With its wild box flares and racing roots, it’s become a collector’s dream—if you can even find one, be ready to pay big.
That legend is exactly what pushed HWA to cook up its own modern take. HWA, for those not in the know, is the brainchild of Hans-Werner Aufrecht – the ‘A’ in AMG. These folks have been building Mercedes race cars for decades, so if anyone can dream up an Evolution III for the 21st century, it’s them.
That said, the very first HWA Evo, priced at $760,000, just went to someone with a direct link to the car that started it all. HWA says chassis 001 of the new Evo now sits in the same collection as chassis 001 of the original 190E Evo II. That’s right – the first of both generations, side by side, under one roof.
HWA
A Modern Interpretation, Not a Restomod
HWA handed over Chassis #001 to Prof. Dr. Friedhelm Loh at Germany’s Nationales Automuseum, where it joins the famous Loh Collection. The museum already has the original 190E Evo II chassis #001 and #500 on display, so now the first HWA Evo gets to hang out with two of the legends that inspired it.
Painted in the same Blue-Black Metallic as the original Evo II, the first HWA Evo is both a tribute to its roots and the kickoff for customer deliveries of this ultra-limited machine.
Sure, the HWA Evo starts life as a Mercedes 190E shell, but calling it a restoration doesn’t do it justice. HWA’s engineers have reworked almost everything, leaving just a sliver of the original body. The chassis gets beefed up with aluminum and high-strength steel, then wrapped in carbon-fiber panels. The result? A car that’s way stiffer and wider than the old-school version.
Under the hood, the HWA EVO is powered by a reworked twin-turbo 3.0-liter Mercedes V6. HWA tears down each engine, balances everything, adds a dry-sump system, and tunes its own engine management. The standard setup makes 444 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque, but if you want more, the Affalterbach Package bumps it up to 493 hp. There’s a six-speed manual transaxle for that proper old-school feel, plus race-inspired suspension, nearly perfect 50:50 weight balance, and digital gauges that pay homage to the original Evo II. It’s modern muscle without losing its soul.
The delivery wasn’t just about handing over keys. HWA also brought out Prototype PT01, the car that did most of the Evo’s development work before showing up at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. That car now joins the Loh Collection too. Right next to it? The hardcore HWA EVO R, the race-ready version that ran in the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours and is now up for grabs as a customer track toy.
HWA
Customer Deliveries Are Officially Underway
Handing over chassis #001 officially kicks off production, after about two years of development since the HWA Evo first broke cover in 2023. HWA says chassis #002 has already gone to Willibald Dörflinger, the company’s main shareholder, so customer cars are finally rolling out of Affalterbach.
Production is staying ultra-exclusive. HWA will build just 100 road-going Evos, each one put together mostly by hand using motorsport know-how. The road car even laid the groundwork for the HWA EVO R, which needed only a few tweaks to become a full-on track weapon, since it was engineered for competition from day one.
If you’re lucky enough to visit the Nationales Automuseum, you can now see both the original and the modern Evo side by side. The special exhibition also shows off prototype PT01, the HWA EVO R race car, the original Evolution II models, and Klaus Ludwig’s 1992 DTM championship-winning Mercedes. It’s a full-circle story of how one of Mercedes’ greatest homologation specials went from touring car legend to modern performance icon, built by the same folks who made the original.
HWA
Â
