What do the Mercedes CLK GTR, Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM AMG,
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, Pagani V12-R Evo and many, many other
sports cars, super sports cars and racing cars have in common?
They all carry more or less genes from HWA.
The HWA EVO is far more than a reborn Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II with the technology of today. HWA, founded by AMG founder Hans Werner Aufrecht in Affalterbach, is building its own sports car for the first time with the EVO. The EVO is the distilled HWA spirit in its purest form. To speak of a restomod would be completely wrong.
It is hard to believe that there was a time when the Stuttgart-based company kept its distance from motorsport for years. The memories of the biggest disaster in motorsport were too painful. In 1955, a Mercedes 300 SLR crashed at the 24-hour race in Le Mans, killing not only the driver but also over 80 spectators. Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher stepped into the breach, making motorsport history at the end of the 1960s with racing cars based on the Mercedes 300 SEL 6.3.
Mercedes itself only indirectly ventured back into motorsport in the mid-1980s. The basis for this was the ‘Baby Benz’. Mercedes’ answer to the BMW E30. In 1983, the 190E 2.3-16 appeared as a sports model, a Mercedes that set records in the 1980s with its 185 hp engine reworked by Cosworth.
After the sports car sold over 5,000 units and private teams even competed in the DTM based on the Mercedes 2.3-16, Mercedes decided to attack in motorsport again. This was the birth of the Mercedes 190 Evo and the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II.
Model dimensions not just for the Nürburgring Nordschleife
Although the HWA EVO is based on the chassis of a Mercedes-Benz 190E (W201), hardly anything remains of the original donor vehicle. To be precise, only parts of the passenger compartment and the shape of the doors are still original; more than three-quarters of the donor bodywork has been redesigned and massively reinforced with tubular frames.
The wheelbase is extended by eight centimetres to 2.75 metres, the body is 18 centimetres wider and the entire HWA EVO measures 4.58 metres. Even the A, B and C pillars are only partially original. But this is no longer noticeable. The entire front end and parts of the rear consist of subframe constructions made of high-strength steel and aluminium alloys as well as carbon fibre. The wide wings, bonnet, roof, doors, boot lid, rear wing etc. are also made of carbon fibre.
The wheel arches are fitted with 19 and 20-inch alloy wheels, behind which a Brembo six-piston brake system with carbon ceramic discs is waiting to be deployed. However, steel brake discs are also being discussed as an alternative. The HWA EVO has little in common with a Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II. Which is logical, rund liegt in der Konstruktionsas
the car is a thoroughbred HWA – without compromise.
No compromises
When the HWA EVO was a guest on our driving dynamics test rig (KW 7-Post) in Fichtenberg at the beginning of 2025 for suspension tuning, the EVO surprised us with its 50:50 weight distribution. The reason for this lies in the design decision to use a transaxle construction.
The 3.0-litre biturbo V6 located behind the cast double wishbone front axle is a familiar unit that has been used in various Mercedes-AMG models such as the C 43 4Matic, SLC 43 and E 43 in recent years. In the HWA EVO, the six-cylinder engine has been completely revised and, among other things, has been fitted with dry sump lubrication so that it can be installed lower down.
Depending on customer requirements, the 24V delivers between 450 and 500 hp. HWA gives the top speed as 270 km/h. With the optional upgrade
package, which increases the power output to 500 hp, the top speed is 300 km/h. The manual six-speed gearbox is located on the rear axle due to the transaxle design.
We came into play with the suspension and developed two suspension variants for HWA based on our KW solid piston dampers. Either the HWA EVO is equipped with our four-way manually adjustable KW V5 dampers or customers who order an HWA Evo can opt for a DDC with two electronically controlled proportional valves.
Because we at KW live our motto every day: to deliver the right suspension
for every demand. This goes so far that we manufacture all our KW coilovers to order. Somewhere in the world, a car enthusiast orders a KW coilover suspension and we in Fichtenberg start building the KW suspension exactly for this customer.
High-tech suspension for high-tech Evo
Our solid piston dampers are something very special and we don’t just use these displacement piston suspensions in our homologated motorsport dampers for various GT3 racing cars. They are convincing in every vehicle,
whether in sports cars, super sports cars or in the HWA Evo.
With our solid piston dampers, there are no more overflowing pistons as with other shock absorbers. The working piston is closed and the entire hydraulic or volume column above and below the piston is displaced. This compact design greatly increases the hydraulic working and effective range of a shock absorber. This means that smaller piston rods can also be used, which benefits the damping not only in the compression stage forces, but also in the rebound stage forces.
The higher forces in the hydraulics are controlled and regulated by a completely new valve design. The valves are also separated from the working piston in the solid piston principle. As already mentioned, the dampers in the HWA EVO are four-way adjustable. This means that the high-speed compression stage, high-speed rebound stage, low-speed compression stage and lowspeed rebound stage can be adjusted independently without tools in just a few simple steps, allowing the HWA EVO to be perfectly tuned to your own riding requirements for every route.
As we at KW like to make the impossible possible, we have also developed a semi-active suspension for the HWA Evo. We are one of the few suspension manufacturers in our segment that has the complete range of hydraulic systems, electronic valves, sensors, high-performance control units, damper
controls and applications to take the entire range of driving dynamics, driving comfort and driving safety to a whole new level.
In this special DDC suspension, we combine our solid piston dampers with two electronic proportional valves and our own suspension control unit. This evaluates various parameters such as vertical wheel acceleration, wheel load fluctuations, body and roll inclination, pitch, steering angle and vehicle speed up to 1000 times per second. This enables our system to adjust the damping to the required force within six to ten milliseconds depending
on the situation. We have even adapted this technology for motorhomes.
An HWA EVO with this suspension technology therefore drives on a completely different level. Incidentally, we combine the dampers with our KW HLS in both suspension variants. This is a hydraulic lift system that raises the body by up to 45 millimetres at the touch of a button to provide the necessary ground clearance for speed bumps and underground car park entrances.
Still in the development and design phase
HWA plans to produce the EVO in a limited edition totalling 100 units. For example, we presented a ‘rolling chassis’ of the HWA EVO at Retro Classics in Stuttgart. At the time of going to press in spring 2025, only an initial design concept for the interior was known to the public. But HWA wouldn’t be HWA if they didn’t know exactly what their customers want.
The ‘Interior Testbed’ design concept offers a first glimpse of the interior of the HWA EVO and combines the character of the original 190E with modern technology. Elements such as the dashboard, door handles and the four-spoke steering wheel have been adopted and supplemented with features
such as a digital instrument cluster, infotainment with smartphone mirroring, wireless charging and a premium audio system.
For balanced operation, the concept combines digital displays with physical buttons for central functions such as climate control and volume control. An Alcantara-covered roll cage, sports seats with four-point seat belts and
rear seats with Isofix fastenings make the interior family-friendly. Extensive customisation options round off the concept.
It all kicks off at the end of 2025
Production of the small series of the HWA Evo, limited to 100 units, is currently scheduled to start at the end of 2025. The Evo will be manufactured directly in Affalterbach at HWA. When ordering the EVO, 30 per cent of the list price of around 850,000 euros must be paid in advance. Between you and me, interested parties should hurry, as an HWA EVO with chassis number 000 was auctioned off at RM Sotheby’s for 1.31 million in the summer of 2024.
Photo KW and HWA
