1986 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth

Description

Senna tribute car that has been on static display in a private collection for the last dozen years; recently recommissioned; advisory-free MOT; a very smart example of this desirable Cosworth-powered sporting saloon

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Ayrton Senna, widely considered to be the greatest racing driver who ever lived. But just 40 years ago he was still virtually unknown outside the small world of Formula 3. What really put him on the map was a race organised by Mercedes in 1984 to celebrate the opening of the new Nurburgring GP circuit and to promote their new Cosworth-powered 190E Saloon.  

Twenty of the best drivers in the world were invited to compete in what was billed as The Race of Champions, including nine of the fourteen Formula 1 world champions still alive and two future ones – Niki Lauda, James Hunt, John Watson, Phil Hill, Alan Jones, Stirling Moss to name just a few.

All were given identical Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 Saloons in which to slug it out on track to determine who was the best driver in the world. When Emerson Fittipaldi pulled out at the last minute, another Brazilian was drafted in to fill his shoes, a virtually unknown Ayrton Senna.

Qualifying third behind Alain Prost and Carlos Reutemann, Senna had danced his way to the front by the end of the first lap, taking a lead he would not relinquish until he took the chequered flag 12 laps later, 1.4 seconds ahead of Niki Lauda, 3.7 seconds ahead of third place Carlos Reutemann and almost 40 seconds ahead of pole-sitter Alain Prost.

It was a stunning achievement and Senna’s winning car, No. 11, was put on display at the Mercedes museum in Stuttgart where it has remained ever since. Senna’s career went into orbit, as did the 190E Cosworth which wiped the floor in the German DTM race series and impressed Senna so much that he bought one for himself. Given a larger 2.5-litre engine in 1988, this proved no faster and the free-revving 185bhp 2.3 is the one most rated by purists today.

First registered in January 1986, this 190E 2.3-16 was acquired by our vendor in 2012 to join his Mercedes collection. A garage proprietor and former F3 team sponsor, he had known Senna personally and was a huge fan, decking out this Smoke Silver example in identical livery to that of the winning No. 11 car.

A serial Cosworth owner who knows the cars inside-out, our vendor promptly treated it to a top-end overhaul, new brake discs and pads all round, a new set of tyres and full waxoil treatment, some (but not all) of this work being documented in parts invoices on file.

More polished than driven over the next dozen years, we are told that the Cosworth drives as well as it looks with none of the top-end rattles when hot that often afflict this engine. The body, paint and interior are all in similarly impressive condition and the Senna stickers can all be easily removed if the new owner prefers a more standard look. 

Flying through its MOT in December last year with no advisories recorded, it has only covered a handful of miles since, the odometer currently showing 148,839 miles. A dozen old MOTs show that it has only covered some 40k miles in the last 30 years.

Starting promptly and running sweetly as we have moved it around on site, it comes with its original handbooks and a duplicate service book (no stamps) plus a few invoices during our vendor’s 12-year ownership. The icing on the cake is the B 5ENA number plate which is included in the sale.  

For an entertaining account of The Race of Champions, copy and paste this link into your browser:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=664k0onPaVY

You can view the full race here - Lauda puts in a heroic performance charging from 14th to 2nd but Senna is clearly in a league of his own:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR1b-J4q-80

Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com