Opinion: Why the Mercedes-Benz 190E Evo II is about to skyrocket in popularity, again

Popular culture has become such a powerful force that it can promote something from niche obscurity to stratospheric heights of awareness almost instantly.

Take the Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R for example. Already a force to be reckoned with in Japan, thanks to its generational provenance, the car shot to international stardom thanks to the 1999 Gran Turismo 2 game on the Sony PlayStation.

Through the gaming world, hoards of younger motoring fans not ornately familiar with the older R32 GT-R’s rise to fame through motorsport in the late 1980s, let alone the original ‘Hakosuka’ GT-R of 1969, were now JDM-AF in their affection of the R34 thanks to its representation on the loungeroom TV.

Even the 2001 BMW E46 M3 GTR, a homologated race car with only 10 road-going examples produced, is immediately recognisable by a generation of thumb-jockeys since starring as the ‘hero’ car in the 2005 Need For Speed: Most Wanted game.

In 2013, consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers reported that automotive advertising in the gaming universe was a $2.8-billion industry. This has grown substantially in the past 10 years, with the US competitive research organisation MarketsandMarkets noting in September this year that automotive spend in the still largely unknown Metaverse platform would be worth $16.5-billion by 2030.

As franchises, Gran Turismo and Need for Speed have sold hundreds of millions of copies and netted over $8-billion in sales, so it’s fair to say that scoring a ‘cover’ car on either platform is a valuable place for any automotive brand to be.

This is why, our attention now turns to the iconic 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II and its position as the ‘it’ car of the forthcoming Need for Speed: Unbound game.

First shown at the 1990 Geneva Motor Show, the ultimate ‘baby Benz’ was produced in a limited run of 502 road-going units so as to homologate the car for the German DTM touring car series.

As the 190E was already gaining popularity on the road and track, in both regular 2.3-16 Cosworth and 2.5-16 Evolution 1 guise, the Evolution 2 order allocation was sold out before the car was even unveiled.

Featuring a 16-valve 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine with 173kW and 245Nm, the Evo II would rev out to its peak powerband at 7200rpm. The car had in-cabin adjustable ride height suspension and thanks to the wild body kit and enormous rear spoiler (which overhangs the rear bootlid) had a drag coefficient of 0.29, better than the C117 Mercedes-Benz CLA that would follow a quarter of a century later.

All road cars, bar numbers 501 and 502, were finished in Blauschwarz metallic, with the final two cars painted Astral silver.

The Evolution II entered the DTM competition midway through the 1990 season and took Mercedes-Benz on to win the manufacturer’s championship in 1991 and 1992, as well as taking first, second and third outright in the 1992 season.

Brilliant car. Motoring icon. But what has this got to do with a game and a rapper who spells his name with a dollar sign?

Revealed at last month’s E3 gaming expo, Need For Speed: Unbound once again focusses on an underground street-racing community in modern-day America. As a player you race to earn money, cars and kudos to rise through the ranks of the game-universe life.

Your character is the the primary protagonist, but A$AP Rocky is your mentor-come-guide for elements of the game.

The Grammy-nominated artist from New York sold two million copies of his first album (which debuted at number one on the US Billboard chart) and is (according to my teenage daughter), big.

I’ll level with you, I had to look him up to write this piece, as I’m not really in his target demographic, but having had a quick listen, the beats are strong even if the lyrics are a little edgy. Why are we talking about him though?

Because in the Need for Speed world, he ‘drives’ the hero car, a street-modified two-tone (down the middle) 190E Evo II.

It's the cover car, the story hook and the literal vehicle that A$AP (and yes, that's how he spells it and given his real name, Rakim, could confuse him with another hip-hop legend, I'll persist with the dollar-sign) uses to illustrate his character's importance in the game's universe. What’s more, he even has a real-life version of it.

While we don’t expect the half-white, half-black 190E seen on the rapper’s social media accounts is a ‘real’ Evo II, it’s still a pretty cool promotional tool for the game.

Bottom line, if A$AP and Electronic Arts (EA) / Need for Speed are putting this much weight behind the mighty-one-ninety, then expect the car’s star to rise. Sharpish.

Real Evo IIs were still a five-figure car until a few years ago, when the values doubled then tripled, then went higher still. A number that have changed hands this year in the USA have been north of $US350k ($A550k), with one currently advertised in Germany for €330k ($A515k) and another set to hit the RM Sotheby’s auction block in November.

Even far more common 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth (19,400 built) and 2.5-16 Cosworth (5700 built) are rising in value, but bringing the car to a whole new audience should start to move these, and even regular 190E models up in value.

For car fans (especially those who own 190Es), seeing iconic cars move from enthusiast obscurity to mainstream visibility is a great thing.

Gaming is a great platform for this, and has time has shown, it's a strong bet on success.

Out Run did it for the Ferrari Testarossa Spider, Gran Turismo did it for the Skyline GT-R (and Mazda 121 Demios), Need for Speed: Most Wanted the M3 GTR and now Unbound should hopefully put the 190E Evo II on the pedestal it so richly deserves.

I know this is the encouragement I need to give the game a crack. I may even ask my daughter to introduce me to some A$AP tracks while reminding her we own a 190E – just to let her know we were already cool before the cool kids got here.

Need for Speed: Unbound launches in December 2022. See the game trailer here.