BMW M3 vs Mercedes 190 E - which 1990s DTM hero would you buy?

It takes a lot to spark a heated debate in the Classic Driver office, but this week we’ve been divided by two legends of the 1990s - the BMW E30 M3 and Mercedes-Benz 190 E Cosworth. We’ve hand-picked ten standout examples all ready to do battle both on the track and the backroads!

The Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft touring car series was to become an all-out brawl by the dawn of the 1990s. Manufacturers were throwing millions into their respective machines, hiring ex-Formula 1 engineers and innovators in a bid to rule supreme, leading to a jam-packed race calendar that would leave spectators desperate for more. There were two brands who would jostle for the top step of the DTM podium, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Their fierce battles on the race track formed the spark that ignited an equally hard-fought competition for the ultimate road-going sports saloon, with both the E30-generation BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz 190 E Cosworth models seen as the two ultimate interpretations of the genre. A staggering 35 years or so may have passed, but the admiration for both models in their various guises has seemingly only increased. To prove it, we’ve hand-picked ten standout examples of both the M3 and 190 E that symbolise true race-turned-road car perfection!