Cosworth-powered cars are fairly rare on North American soil. Compared to what was available in Europe, we only received the Chevrolet Cosworth Vega, which was a great concept that fell down in the execution, and the Mercedes 190E 2.3-16, which was a great car that has lived in the shadow of the contemporary BMW M3. Mercedes had originally asked Cosworth to develop an engine for a rally version of their new 190E, but when Audi came out with the all-conquering Quattro, Mercedes side-stepped and took its car to touring races. This required homologation sales, so the road-going 190E 2.3-16 was developed for sale. Adding a twin cam 16-valve head, lightened pistons and upgraded rings yielded 49hp over the regular 2.3’s 136hp, though the engine was detuned to 167hp for the North American market. You can find your own Anglo-Teutonic screamer in this 1986 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16, available for $3500 in Berkeley, CA.
Rusty But Trusty 