The first production unit of the HWA Evo has officially arrived. Chassis #001 of the highly anticipated restomod was delivered to the Nationales Automuseum The Loh Collection in late July 2026.
It now sits directly beside chassis #001 and #500 of the original 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evo II. The delivery marks the end of a compressed two-year development cycle that transformed original W201 bodyshells into carbon-fiber-clad tributes to the legendary DTM racer.
HWA AG completely abandoned the original four-cylinder engine for this project. They dropped in a front-mid-mounted 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 pushing 444 horsepower and 550 Nm of torque. And yes, it strictly routes power through a six-speed manual gearbox. The engineering team achieved a perfect 50/50 weight distribution while keeping the curb weight down to a lean 1,350 kg.
While the museum secured the first car, according to AutoNext, chassis #002 was simultaneously handed over to Willibald Dörflinger. He is the principal shareholder of HWA AG. Production is strictly capped at 100 total units worldwide, and every single build slot is already sold.
The steep €714,000 base price translates to roughly $760,000. Paying that much for a modern tribute makes sense to buyers when viewing it next to the original homologation special, of which only 502 road-legal units were ever built.
Homologation Tributes Command Modern Hypercar Premiums
The HWA Evo confirms a distinct pricing trend in the modern restomod market. Analogue tributes to 1990s motorsport icons are now reliably commanding the exact same financial premiums as brand-new hybrid hypercars. By restricting the global allocation to just 100 chassis, HWA guaranteed instant scarcity for a vehicle that technically shares its skeletal origins with a standard 1980s commuter sedan. Buyers are paying almost a million dollars for the tactile engagement of a manual V6, rather than chasing top-speed aerodynamic records.