Press Release
Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3-16 Revisted
Southern Italy, August 13 - 21, 1983
Three of these production cars were slightly modified for record runs aimed at proving their reliability: the bodywork was lowered by 15 millimeters, the front apron was extended downwards by 20 millimeters, the fan was removed and the power steering replaced by mechanical steering. In the early morning of August 13, 1983, they started out on a 50,000 km high-speed test run, demanding any amount of stamina on the part of cars, drivers and test department staff. The Nardo cars also featured self-leveling suspension on the front axle to keep the ground clearance at a constant level.
The record track in Nardo is precisely 12.64026 kilometers long, has a diameter of some four kilometers and slightly banked lanes, thereby permitting driving almost without lateral forces even in the speed range over 240 km/h.
According to the engineers' calculations, the cars were to reach the 50,000 km target in the morning of the eighth day - provided there were no problems, the pit stops were performed as scheduled and the six drivers were up to the strain. Lap times were to be three minutes and five seconds to reach the targeted average speed of 240 km/h including pit stops. Due to the cars' low Cd value of 0.30, they were expected to reach somewhat higher top speeds than the production versions.
Every two-and-a-half hours, the cars came in for refueling and a change of driver during a 20-second pit stop. The heavily strained rear tires had to be replaced every 8,500 kilometers and the front tires every 17,000 kilometers. During these five-minute tire change breaks, the oil and oil filters were also replaced and the valve clearance was checked. To protect the headlamp lenses against soiling and damage during the daytime, they were covered by plastic caps; the radiator mask was fitted with a quick-change insect screen to prevent clogging of the radiator.
Three world records, nine international class records
After 201 hours, 39 minutes and 43 seconds, two of the cars had clocked up 50,000 kilometers. The replacement parts carried on board in compliance with the regulations had not been required - the cars had been running perfectly smoothly despite the extreme strain. The third car was laid up for three hours by a broken distributor rotor arm - an item costing just a few cents, which the pit crew were not allowed to replace but had to repair.
The new Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3-16 had already more than fulfilled the hopes pinned on it when it became a crowd-puller at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and a winner when it came to sales success.
In the following years, the 16-valve model formed the sound basis for the extremely successful Mercedes-Benz racing cars entered in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM).
