Mercedes 190 D BlueEFFICIENCY, Baby-Benz with a Bang

Ever wondered how would it have been having today's technology some 20 years ago? Imagine the cars made then powered by today's engines...Today's safety features on yesterday's vehicles...Yesterday's Mercedes 190 implanted with today's OM651 common-rail engine developing...

You read right. German manufacturer Mercedes decided to make an experiment and fit a 21-year old Mercedes 190 with the aforementioned unit, sourced from the C 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY. Which, by the way, develops 204 horsepower and 500 Nm between 1600 and 1800 rpm, twice as much as the old W 201-series. The new engine propels the 190 from naught to sixty in 6.2 seconds, 11.9 seconds faster than the original 190 D...

When talking about fuel consumption, the new engine is, obviously, more environment conscious. It eats up 4.9l/km (48 mpg), compared to the 7.3l/100 km (32.2 mpg) in 1988.

And that's not all. Mercedes added to the 1988 190 seven airbags, the adaptive Agility Control suspension and assistance systems such as ESP and Adaptive Brake. Of course, comfort was not left aside and the revived Baby-Benz now features multi-adjustable seats and electrically adjustable and heated exterior mirrors.

If you're wondering what's the purpose of this vehicle, Mercedes says it is only an "experimental vehicle." Since "it's the question that drives us," Mercedes started wondering "how might one make the 20-year progress directly tangible, in isolation from the equally profound changes in the safety and comfort of the car as a whole?"

Hence the 190 D BlueEFFICIENCY was born. 74 hp more powerful than the 190, 11.9 seconds faster, twice as fuel efficient and, why not, perhaps more fun that its successor, the C-Klasse.