First glimpses of HWA AG's £736k Mercedes 190E EVO II

First things first: the iconic Silver Arrow emblem has been removed, and the grille it was affixed to has been darkened and given a minor design update. In a similar vein, the headlamp covers have been given a dark tint, revealing a redesigned headlight cluster that is divided into two parts for each corner.

The splitter itself has been redesigned to be more streamlined and to do away with the connection cables that characterised the earlier model. The cooling vents have also been updated to appear a little less disorganised. The HWA EVO appears to be designed with a cleaner aesthetic in mind, which is carried over to the back. Of those 12,000 hours, we would estimate that a good 6,000 of them involved hitting the "delete" button in Photoshop.

The HWA derivatives have taken the place of the original Merc badges, and the tail lights now have a much more contemporary (LED?) design that flows horizontally rather than vertically like on the original. Additionally, the HWA EVO has lost some of its curved and fissured lines, which results in a much more linear approach overall and greatly contributes to the cleaner appearance.

HWA has said that the EVO will be "produced using state-of-the-art technology in terms of powertrain, performance, brakes, aerodynamics, and safety," but it has not disclosed the precise powertrain numbers. Translated roughly, that means the 2.5-liter inline-four engine of the original car should provide a healthy amount more power—232 bhp and 181 lb ft of torque. 9,000 more hours of deliberation ought to produce a set of conclusive numbers.

According to HWA, just 100 will be produced, and each one will start at an astounding €714,000, or £614k, before VAT, or little over £736k. Since there will only be 100 of these vehicles produced and there seems to be a lot of interest in restomods of this kind right now, we believe HWA will have plenty of buyers.

Homologation Specials: 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II