Lot details
Registration No: F26 TEE
Chassis No: WDB2010292F551117
Mot Expiry: Jan 2011

The precursor to the C-Class, the W210 190 was Daimler-Benz's compact executive offering from 1983 until 1993 and the most affordable model in its line up at the time. Some £600 million was reputedly spent researching and developing the car, with which the company pioneered a number of technical innovations such as the 5-link suspension system subsequently carried over to the C and E-Class ranges. The car featured anti-dive and squat geometry as standard and was available with airbags, ABS seatbelt tensioners and other safety features generally ahead of their time. There was just one body style - a three-box, four-door saloon. Early models were somewhat cramped in the rear; a problem that was resolved in the 1989 model-year facelift. There was a range of petrol engines from 1.8 to 2.6 litres and a selection of diesel units from 2.0 to 2.5 litres. Now eagerly sought by collectors are the rare 190E 2.3-16 and 2.5-16 Cosworth variants, which were homologation specials built with Cosworth's help to allow Mercedes to contest the German Touring Car Championship (DTM). A total of nearly 1.9 million 190s were produced during their 10-year reign, many of which are still providing sterling service today - some with hundreds of thousands of miles on the clock. Thought by Mercedes to have been over-engineered, it is considered by many to be a better car than the C-Class range that replaced it!

The right-hand drive 190E being sold is a 1989 model equipped with the biggest of the petrol engine options - 2.6-litres - mated to a 4-speed automatic gearbox. The coachwork is finished in Almondine and the interior trimmed in beige cloth. By all accounts this baby Merc has led something of a charmed life, having only had one owner since it was a mere six months old and never been allowed out in the rain. The vendor describes the coachwork, paintwork, engine, transmission and interior as "excellent" and says the car drives "superbly". 'F23 TEE' reportedly comes complete with a full service history, three spare keys and lots of bills and receipts. It is taxed until the end of this year and MOT'd into January 2011.