190 E 2.5-16 EVO 1
Story
The Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 EVO 1 is the race car Dany Snobeck used in the 1989 DTM season. He was also the owner of the Snobeck Racing Service team.
DTM, short for Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (the German Touring Car Championship), was a series in which the BMW M3, Ford Sierra and Mercedes 190 E went head to head in those years. The 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution I is the version Mercedes developed to take on the M3. It was unveiled in Geneva in March 1989. For this version to be allowed to race, a certain number of road-going examples also had to be sold, so Mercedes built 502 road cars.
Snobeck's team was not just a customer for this car but one of its developers. They had developed the 190 E in the French championship before the DTM, and during the works era they took on the chassis and suspension work. The Evo I made its first race appearance at Mainz-Finthen on 14 May 1989, and Snobeck was one of the first three drivers to run it (the others being Klaus Ludwig and Roland Asch).
Snobeck's personal season was not a bright one. He finished 12th in the championship without a win or a podium. Mercedes was fast, but the title that year went to Roberto Ravaglia in his BMW M3.