• One of four Evo II chassis campaigned by AMG-Mercedes in the 1992 DTM Championship
• Driven to four wins and 3rd place in the Championship by DTM legend, Bernd Schneider
• Raced by DTM Junior Team driver Sandy Grau in 1993, achieving a further nine top-10 finishes

While the renamed Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft was first contested by privately entered Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3-16s in 1986, it was not until 1988 that the Three-Pointed Star made its factory debut in the competition. The German manufacturer had designs to conquer the field alongside its long-time technical partner, AMG. Incumbent champion, Klaus Ludwig, was poached from arch-rivals, Ford, to spearhead Mercedes-Benz’s 1989 campaign, yet the next three seasons were characterised by relative underachievement.

For 1992, Mercedes-Benz recruited future DTM legend Bernd Schneider to join Ludwig, Keke Rosberg and Ellen Lohr at AMG’s four-car “super team”. The 190 E had by now transformed into spectacular Evolution II form and Rosberg took AMG’s first win at Wunstorf in early May. It was a result that was repeated by the team on a further 10 occasions that year. In total, Mercedes-Benz won 16 of the 24 Championship rounds held. By contrast, BMW claimed only seven and Audi just one. Ludwig emerged a worthy Champion ahead of Zakspeed’s Kurt Thiim and Schneider; the latter pair separated by a single point at the season’s end.

It is Schneider’s car from that landmark 1992 season that is offered here. Entered in all 24 Championship rounds, it took four race wins—including a noteworthy double-win at Singen—two 2nd places, two 3rd places, and seven fastest laps. Subsequently acquired by the DTM Junior Team, it was entered for Mercedes-Benz wunderkind Sandy Grau in the 1993 Championship, in which it took a further nine top-10 finishes, including 6th at Avus in its final DTM race.

In 1996, the car passed into a private collection, where it remained until its purchase by the consigning owner in 2008. In their care, the most recent workshop maintenance included the replacement of the engine control unit at Ingenieurbüro Ramler in Düsseldorf, Germany, at a cost of €880.60 in April 2023.

This 190 E Evo II remains perhaps the ultimate recent-era touring car, both in aesthetic and engineering terms. Its direct association with the most decorated DTM driver of all renders it one of the most significant factory-run touring cars ever offered for sale.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/ve23.