Wide fenders, a powerful V6, and tons of charisma — let’s take a spin in HWA’s costly but captivating tribute.
I’m being overtaken by my own rear wing. As I dive into a corner at the Boxberg test track and the sun drops behind me, the enormous spoiler casts a long shadow across the road ahead. It’s so tall that when I glance in the rearview mirror, I can’t even see it. I’d forgotten it was there — until it silently sweeps past the window like a shark fin. I can’t help but smile.
It’s a vivid reminder of what I’m driving. Few cars have a rear wing as iconic and instantly recognizable as the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evo II. But calling this a Mercedes would be a lie. While Singer politely reminds everyone that its creations are still Porsches — just “reimagined by Singer” — this car is the HWA Evo. Not a single Mercedes-Benz badge in sight. Only a trace of the old Mercedes DNA remains, buried deep within.
Is it a restomod? Not exactly — because it’s neither a restoration nor a modification. It’s essentially a brand-new car built from the ground up, though it channels retro spirit and pays clear homage to the Evo II. And no one has more right to build such a tribute than HWA. The original Evo II, after all, was born in 1990 as a homologation car for DTM racing — cars that were, yes, engineered and run by HWA.
HWA is, first and foremost, a racing team — and a wildly successful one. It’s managed nearly all Mercedes racing programs outside Formula 1. The company earned that position thanks to its founder, Hans-Werner Aufrecht — the “A” in AMG. The ties to Mercedes run deep, giving HWA full legitimacy to resurrect the Evo legacy. Today, even hypercar makers turn to HWA for help: they built the naturally aspirated V12 for the Pagani Huayra R, developed the short-lived Fittipaldi EF7, and are currently working on the De Tomaso P72.
The Evo is HWA’s own project — though one suspects Mercedes quietly approved. As Singer has shown, allowing a trusted partner to reinterpret a brand’s heritage can pay off handsomely. HWA hints this could be the beginning of a broader road-car program.
This particular car marks the very start. It’s the first prototype — proudly stated on the carbon-fiber brace under the hood. From the outside it looks finished, but beneath the skin lies a tangle of wires, sensors, and electronics. Temperature probes, strain gauges, control units, and big red buttons are scattered everywhere. The cockpit is stripped out, with massive racing seats and an extreme roll cage.
This car doesn’t even belong to HWA anymore. It, along with two other early prototypes, has been handed over to Bosch for a full year of electronic system development. I doubt there’s another retro-inspired car in the world that’s received this level of engineering focus. Eight prototypes will be built in total; the last two will go to crash testing.
The base car, interestingly, isn’t one of the 502 original Evo IIs, but a regular Mercedes-Benz 190E sedan — one of two million produced. HWA keeps only the central body shell and reinforces it. Both front and rear suspensions are entirely new, designed to meet modern crash-safety standards. The engine is a modified version of Mercedes’ 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 (M276), found in smaller AMGs like the SLC 43. The initial plan called for 450 horsepower without internal upgrades, but the project has evolved — HWA is now experimenting with custom rods and pistons. The transmission is a manual, power goes to the rear wheels, and — as you’d expect in a prototype — there’s no air conditioning.
It’s still about 82°F outside, and I had to wait until all the secret Bosch projects cleared the track before I could go for a run. The car is clearly not finished yet. The steering feels too light and numb; the brake pedal does little until 80% of its travel, then bites sharply; and while the shifter is quick, it lacks the weight and mechanical precision you’d hope for. The engineers assure me this is all part of the plan. When test drivers spend long, sweaty hours without A/C, they prefer a car that’s easy to manage.
The engine — currently the main focus — feels far more refined. I’ve never been a fan of this V6 in regular Mercedes models, but here it’s transformed with new turbos, intake, and exhaust systems. It sounds raspier, breathes easier, and revs with buttery smoothness — almost too smooth. “Too linear,” say the HWA engineers. They want to dial in a bit more lag, more “turbo personality.” The goal isn’t to make it feel modern — quite the opposite.
For now, I’m limited to 5,000 rpm, just before the point where the V6 really comes alive and its tone hardens. Even so, it oozes charisma. Purists may insist it should have a high-revving four-cylinder like the original, but the twin-turbo V6 feels like the engine Mercedes would have chosen if it built this car today. It’s mounted far enough back to count as a front-mid engine. With 500 hp moving a curb weight of 2,976 lbs, it matches the power-to-weight ratio of today’s Aston Martin Vantage — a car that’s hardly short on punch.
The chassis feels exceptionally rigid, giving the suspension a solid foundation to work from. There’s a hint of body roll, but it’s deliberate — a nod to the car’s heritage — and it helps the Evo settle gracefully into corners. The car rotates naturally, loading both axles evenly, giving the sensation that you’re sitting dead center within the wheelbase as it pivots around you.
Before driving it, I expected something with AMG-like brutality. But this isn’t a muscle sedan in the C63 mold — it’s more refined, more precise. There’s Porsche-like balance in the way it moves, a sense that the chassis matters as much as the powertrain. It drives exactly how you hope a reborn Evo II would: sharp, confident, precise, and deeply charismatic — the very traits that once defined AMG’s greatest road cars, before the hybridized four-cylinders arrived.
Yes, it costs a fortune — around €845,000 ($988,000). But then, an original Evo II today goes for roughly €408,000 ($478,000) — serious money for modest performance by modern standards. Its 2.5-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder made 230 hp, and it took about 7 seconds to hit 62 mph. By 2025 standards, that’s hardly thrilling. Sure, it’s an icon. But I have to admit: this new one excites me in ways the original never quite did. I love how it looks — menacing headlights, that towering wing, and flawless bodywork framed by some of the best fender arches since the Colosseum.
Customer deliveries are expected to begin early next year, meaning Bosch faces a tight schedule — and so does HWA. The next nine months will be intense. But HWA is a racing team; tight deadlines are their natural habitat. And when the development work is complete, they plan to take it racing — not for homologation this time, but simply because they want to.
The goal? The 24 Hours of Nürburgring.
A full-throttle retro comeback — and a perfectly fitting one.