Touring Car Tyros: BMW E30 M3 + Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16

By: Mark Higgins, Photography by: Ben Galli

Date: 21.06.2022

Back in the eighties, these two were locked in a fierce battle for racetrack glory

Back when touring car racing was for cars seen in showrooms, one of the fiercest rivalries in Australian sport was Holden versus Ford. Bathurst was the bullring and millions glued themselves to the all-day telecast, cheering their brand. Whoever won on Sunday sold on Monday.

Well, that was the theory. In the late 1980s on the other side of the planet, another rivalry every bit as intense, and passionate was in full swing.

It was the battle between Mercedes-Benz and BMW with the prize being the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) or German Touring Car Championship.

Mods to both race going vehicles increased the horses to around 350

Challenging F1 for popularity, the DTM ran under Group A touring car rules in the late 1980s (as did Australia), and to compete manufacturers had to build a minimum number of homologation special road cars. That led to many exceptional vehicles, like the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 and BMW E30 M3.

DTM cars raced on various tracks including the frightening Nürburgring Nordschleife, the old Hockenheim layout, street circuits, military airfields and on the autobahn at Avus. Essentially a drag race up and down the autobahn with a U-turn at each end, Avus first saw competition in the 1930s.

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The driver list was a smorgasbord of stars from F1, sportscars, tintops, a former motorcycle champ – Johnny Cecotto, an international beauty queen, Mercedes Stermitz – driving a BMW, I kid you not. Bathurst winner Armin Hahne and Bathurst regulars Steve Soper, Roberto Ravaglia and Klaus Niedzwiedz were full time DTM racers.

But the true stars were the cars and there were none bigger than this pair. Both have race car looks, 2.5-litre engines, five-speed manual gearboxes, rear wheel drive and are similar in size and weight.

| Read next: Mercedes-Benz 190E Evolution II review

Mercedes and BMW battled it out for the DTM or Deutsche Tourenwagen Miesterschaft

In partnership with Mercedes, the four-door Mercedes Benz 190E 2.5-16 is from AMG, founded June 1st, 1967, by ex-Benz engineers Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher. A subsidiary of Daimler Benz since 2005 AMG has a rich history of racing and customising Mercedes cars.

With the debut of its first small sedan, the Mercedes 190 series in the early 80s, it was decided to promote it through motorsport. Initially rallying was the go and Benz recruited Cosworth to weave their magic on the two-litre four-pot engine. Cosworth kept the Benz crank and rods, made new pistons along with an aluminium 16-valve twin cam head, resulting in a substantial boost in power and the birth of a new model the 190E 2.3-16 or Cosworth Benz as it was quickly known.

In 1972 BMW set up their Motorsport Division, enter the M badge

In 1987 the engine capacity swelled to 2.5-litres by increasing the stroke, reprofiling the cams, adding a new crankshaft, pistons and rods.

As a road-goer it was good for 204 horses. As a race car it was more like 350.

However, its small front and rear spoilers and discreet body kit made it look like most other 190 models. The clue was the badge on the boot. Inside remained largely untouched save for the redesigned rear seat and smaller steering wheel.

The 190E with its separate strut and spring front setup and multi-link rear received stiffer springs and firmer shocks, plus a self-levelling rear end. Despite the changes the Cosworth Benz had a relaxed ride with noticeable body roll. It was luxurious, refined and solid without feeling very sporty.

In 1972 BMW set up their Motorsport Division, where the ‘M’ comes from. Its first car was the 3.0 CSL Batmobile and the comany growth came from the production of race and tweaked road cars. Its masterpiece was the M1 of 1978.

Utilising the two-door body of the 3 Series BMW and sharing its bonnet, roof and door cards, the M3 had lighter panels, different C-pillars, a close ratio gearbox, bigger brakes and wheels, side skirts, flared guards a deep front spoiler and signature raised boot lid wing.

Instead of grabbing the straight six from the M635CSI the M3 was replacing as BMWs track weapon, the engine boffins went for the lighter four-cylinder S14 two-litre unit that became 2.3 litres once the M Division got their hands on it.

It put out 200 horsepower and attached to it was a Getrag 265 five-speed, dogleg manual gearbox with the power fed through a limited slip diff.

Like Mercedes, BMW decided there was no substitute for cubes and a in 1989 upped the ante to 2.5-litres giving the road car 235 and the race car around 350 horses.

Hidden by the 15-inch BBS wheels is the Bosch ABS braking system comprising 280mm vented front and 282mm solid rear disc brakes.

Providing the sublime handling, if not comfy ride are MacPherson struts, Boge shocks, thicker anti-roll bars and independent, semi-trailing arm coil springs at the rear. Modifications take in offset control arm front bushes giving the M3 more caster angle to improve stability and steering, aluminium control arms, revised strut tubes and brake calliper bolt spacing.

Again, like the Mercedes not a lot is altered inside the M3, with BMW focusing its dollars on improvements to the performance and aero, not interior trinkets.

Clive Massel who runs Makulu Vehicle storage in Melbourne is the BMW custodian and a former touring car racer in his native South Africa. His good mate is Rex Broadbent, the owner of the Cosworth Benz and a successful Targa competitor and previous Porsche Cup winner. The two went to Sandown to drive the pair and see what’s what.

And it didn’t take long or much egging on before Clive and Rex started racing each other.

Clive, "The BMW M3 started life as a 2.3 car but we upgraded it locally to a 2.5 litre car using the same components and processes the BMW factory did. The Mercedes however is a genuine factory 2.5 litre 16 valve Cosworth."

Being direct competitors on the track and in showrooms, how did they stack up?

Clive, "It’s only my opinion and I think it’s shared with Rex that although the lap times at Sandown were very close and the cars almost equal at their top ends on the long straights, it was entering, going through and accelerating out of the corners where the M3 shone."

Rex, "The Cosworth is less stiffly sprung and therefore has more bodyroll along with some nosedive when braking and mild understeer. But get it to turn in right and the Mercs progress through corners is rapid and stable."

Clive, "The BMW M3 feels more like a race car or touring car than the Mercedes, which is more luxurious and doesn’t have the same sporty feel as the M3 does. It rolls more through corners and the twisty stuff is where the M3 wins. I think it’s the more satisfying car to drive."

Rex, "It is interesting to note the best lap time for each of the cars, despite the differences in how their setup and how they drive, was a mere one thousandth of a second apart."

"While racetrack combatants the Mercedes was aimed at very different buyers. Those looking for a luxurious and comfortable high speed GT like car, whereas the BMW is a lot more raw in its ride and sporty in its execution."

By the time the rules changed again in 1993 both brands had become DTM title holders with their 2.5 litre engined cars, BMW in 1989 and Mercedes in 1992.

But the real winners were those lucky enough, like Clive and Rex, to own a road-going homologation special like the E30 BMW M3 or the Cosworth Benz and be able to go for a blast when the mood takes them.

From Unique Cars #465, April/May 2022

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