38 MODERN CLASSICS
Asprinkleof SennastardustmakesthisBenzirresistable
198 3-1993
CLEVER
BUYS
MONEY
Whyyouwantone
Whenit comesto high-performance
Germansaloons,thefirstnameto trip
off thetongueis usually‘M3’.Not
unjustlyso,giventheBMW'ssuccess
- but thehighpricescommandedby
E3 0 M3sputsthemoutof thereachof
many;takea ganderat theclassifieds
andmoststartat around£40,000.
The usabilityandcompetition
historyof theM3 areamongthe
reasonsforsuchhighpricesbut,if you
fancysomethingsimilar,youwould
dowellto considertheoft-overlooked
19 0Ein2.3-16and2.5-16
specification.Forstarters,they’re
similarinconceptto theM3 but
commanda fractionof theprice.
Youhavethemotorsportsand
Cosworthheritagetofactorin.
Numbersarealsodwindling,so
perhapsnow’sthetimeto graboneof
thesepedigreedperformancesaloons.
Whattheexpertssay
‘Irecentlyhada standard190E2.6in,
with29,000milesontheclock,and
wepricedit bullishlyat around
£12,995,’saysLamport.‘Wesoldit
straightaway;it wasa one-ownercar,
ithada historyfiletwoinchesthick.It
was anamazingpieceof kit–butif
that hadbeena “Cosworth”variant,
howmuchwouldthatbe?£20,000,
£30,000?Whoknows.
‘Ifyoulookat theEvo190s,they’re
£200,000andup;so,howcanit
possiblybe thata 2.3-16or 2.5-16
isa tenthof thatprice?It’sjust
madness.They’recriminallyunder-
valued.Finda goodoneandyou’re
goingto makemoney,easy,
overnight.Plusthere’stheAyrton
Sennaconnection.’
Ostroffagrees.‘Theseare
interestingandobviouslytheEvo
modelsmakehugemoneyat auction.I
thinka low-mileageonemadeabout
£150,000anda coupleof delivery-
mileagecarsmadeover£200,000.
That,I think,willthenfilterdownto
the othermodels–whichhavegota
greatfollowing.'
Ifyou’rewondering,though,it’s
exclusivitythatdrivestheEvo
variant’spremiums.‘Fromthepoint
ofviewof a driver,theEvoisn’tten
ti mesthecar,’saysOstroff.‘Fromthe
collector’spointof view,thereareonly
a handfulof themoutthere.’
‘We’vesolda numberof 190Esover
the pastfewyears,'saysDunne.‘Most
we’vehadinhavesold.TheEvosare
fetchingbigmoneybutevensensible-
MERCEDES-BENZ190E2.5-16
Engine 24 98cc,4-cyl,DOHC
TransmissionRWD, 5-speedmanual
Power 19 2bhp@6750rpm
Torque 17 3lb-ft@5000-5500rpm
Weight 13 00kg
PERFORMANCE
0-60mph 7. 5sec
Topspeed 146 mph
Economy 29 mpg
mileage,sensiblehistoriednormal
carshavedonequitewellandcouldgo
upwardsintheshorterterm.Overthe
nextcoupleof years,theyseema
relativelyniceinvestment.’
Buyingonecouldprovethetrickier
partof theequation,however.
‘Findingonethat’sdecentwithunder
100 ,000milesis reallytough,’says
Lamport.‘Ifsomeonecamealongwith
a one-owner,25k-milecar,it’dbe
wortha lotof money,andI thinkyou
couldseta precedent.
‘It’slikedrivinga moderncar,so
peoplehaveusedthemandenjoyed
them,so it’sreallydifficultto find
theselowmileagecars.There’sa few
out there,forsure–butI’veneverseen
one comeup,andif theyhavecomeup,
they’ve probably sold immediately.’
I BOUGHT ONE JAMES HARRISON
‘I bought one because it dawned
on me that I might be able to
sell my modern diesel Audi and
run a 25-year-old Mercedes; I
think that it is a car which suits who I am
and explains my love for cars. It’s at home
on flowing A-roads and, despite being
RWD, is forgiving of fairly rough inputs.
Assuming you are buying a car with the
self-levelling suspension in place, budget
around £200 to renew the spheres.’
Manual
'C ossies'are
preferable.
6 /2.5-1
