The German racing team HWA has decided to become a manufacturer of luxury road cars: the debut model will be the HWA EVO restomod based on the Mercedes-Benz W201 sedan. HWA EVO reproduces the style of the rare Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II sports sedan, but at the same time has completely new technical components, including a 450-horsepower V6 petrol biturbo engine.
HWA AG was founded in 1998 by engineer and entrepreneur Hans-Werner Aufrecht, who in 1967, together with Erhard Melcher, founded the engineering company AMG, which later turned into a legendary tuning studio and was absorbed by Mercedes-Benz. HWA AG is a racing team with its own design and production department, based in Affalterbach, Germany. This year the team celebrates 25 years of successful work and a new stage of development: now HWA is also a manufacturer of small-scale sports cars.
The HWA EVO project was announced in November of this year, and recently the company published the first renderings of the restomod and revealed its main technical characteristics. HWA's partner in the development and production of this model was the American restoration workshop Curated from Miami, specializing in European vintage cars.
The HWA EVO is a modern version of the legendary Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II sports sedan from the early 90s, which was produced in an edition of 502 copies, in accordance with the then homologation rules for cars for the DTM Touring Car Championship. The Evo II is considered the pinnacle of evolution of the Mercedes-Benz W201 sedan; surviving examples cost hundreds of thousands of euros on the secondary market and, of course, no one will cut them to create a restomod. To build the HWA EVO, you will need any “on duty” W201 sedan from late years of production in decent condition, only the skeleton of the body will be used from it, and even that will be significantly redesigned and strengthened with the help of an integrated tubular frame and a number of other parts, including parts, to which the suspension is attached, because the chassis of the HWA EVO is completely new.
Externally, the HWA EVO will quite meticulously repeat the historical prototype, but will receive modified aerodynamic elements and will be slightly larger than the original Evo II. Overall length of HWA EVO – 4580 mm, width – 1860 mm, height – 1355 mm, wheelbase – 2750 mm. The outer skin will be made primarily of carbon fiber. The interior will retain the classic W201 design, but will be completely updated, equipped with modern equipment and modern Recaro sports seats.
For the HWA EVO, a Transaxle-type layout has been chosen (the engine is located longitudinally at the front, and the gearbox is located at the rear axle), it will give an ideal weight distribution of 50:50, the target curb weight of the sports sedan is 1350 kg. Suspension: double wishbone all-round with adjustable shock absorbers. The engine is a 3.0-liter Mercedes petrol biturbo engine V6 (model not specified), modified by HWA specialists: it will have a dry sump lubrication system and a bunch of other racing parts, the stated output is 450 hp. and 550 Nm, but this is the minimum, you can squeeze out more. The gearbox is a 6-speed manual; it will be connected to the engine by a carbon fiber driveshaft. That's all the details for now.
HWA is going to release only 100 copies of its debut restomod, live it will be shown next year, with customer deliveries scheduled for the end of 2025. The price is huge: 714,000 euros without taxes, but we believe there will be no problems with sales.
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