How the ‘Baby Benz’ helped define the brand
HIC, safe and sporty — with these demands in mind, Mercedes-Benz expanded its model range in December 1982 to include a new, more compact model series below the upper mid-size class and the full-size class.
CThe Mercedes-Benz 190 and 190 E models of the 201 model series set new standards in this market segment.
Today, even after decades, the design of the compact sedan looks modern, and the technology is by no means antiquated.
And the brand’s entry-level model, affectionately dubbed “Baby-Benz” in the vernacular, is still part of the streetscape as a popular, comfortable and reliable classic.
After starting with the two petrol engine types, the engine range is continuously expanded.
As early as 1983, a diesel variant appears, the 190 D. The sporty “16-valve” 190 E 2.3-16 and its successors were successful in sales and motor sports from 1984 onwards — especially in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) where they won races and titles.
The 190 and 190 E models feature the four-cylinder M 102 engine with a displacement of 1,997 cc. The engine has been in use in a modified form in the Mercedes-Benz 200 of the 123 model series since 1980.
In order to clearly position the compact class, the brand chooses the smaller number 190 for the new models. When
Mercedes-Benz presents the successor model series 202 in May 1993, it is given a name corresponding to the new nomenclature — now it is the C-Class.
Mercedes-Benz has been on the market since 2021 with the current C-Class of the 206 model series.
Venturing into small cars
For decades, Mercedes-Benz passenger cars have belonged to the luxury and uppermiddle classes. That changed at the end of 1982 with the 190 and 190 E models. This portfolio expansion of the brand is by no means a matter of course at the time.
A more compact model series has been discussed since 1974, when Professor Hans Scherenberg, board member for development, laid the cornerstones for a Mercedes-Benz passenger car below the mid-size class in the wake of the oil crisis: “This must be a typical Mercedes-Benz. So, we can’t compromise too much in terms of driving culture, safety and the corresponding Mercedes-Benz characteristics,” he said.
An important argument for the small Mercedes-Benz was provided by the US Congress in 1975 with the further tightening of the “Clean Air Act” introduced in 1970. The amendment stipulates that, from model year 1985 on, the fleet consumption of a manufacturer may not exceed 8.3 liters per 100 kilometers.
In the important export market of the United States, a compact MercedesBenz can make a decisive contribution to achieving this goal — among other things with sophisticated aerodynamics. In fact, at its market launch in 1982, the 201 model series has the best drag coefficient of all Mercedes-Benz saloons with cW = 0.34.
The consistent lightweight construction of the new compact class is by no means to be achieved at the expense of active and passive passenger safety.
On the contrary, the body of the W 201 becomes a model for other Mercedes-Benz model series in some areas. This includes the roof structure with the roof rails facing outwards.
For the first time, a fork carrier structure made of high-strength sheet metal is introduced, whose extreme rigidity provides for defined deformation in crashes and also leads to a weight reduction of 8 kilograms.
In 1988, Mercedes-Benz decides to return to motor sports, and from 1991, the new head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, Norbert Haug, bundled the racing development of the 190 E 2.5-16 EVO II at AMG.
After victories in previous years, the EVO II takes the top three places in the DTM in 1992 with Klaus Ludwig, Kurt Thiim and Bernd Schneider, while Mercedes-Benz defends its victory in the manufacturers’ classification. In 1993, Roland Asch is runner-up for the second time with the 190 E “Class 1.”