w201 Brabus 190E Lightweight based on the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6

Brabus 190E Brabus showed in 1988 the prototype Brabus 190E . A fantastically pure car that pushed the boundaries of a saloon, it had no air conditioning, less sound deadening, a straight-six engine bored and stroked to 3.6 liters, and amazingly, no rear seats. A wild concept, but just a step too far for Brabus customers, who requested that the air conditioning and rear seats be reinstated in the customer cars. That original lightweight prototype was converted into the first Brabus 190E with all the seats and air conditioning back in place, which could have spelled the end of the Lightweight. Luckily, one man fell for it, Sven Gramm, PR Director for Brabus, and in 2008 (some 20 years after that fated prototype) he commissioned Brabus to produce another one, staying true to the concept as a two-seater with no air conditioning. The build used a donor 190E , as would have been done with the original. Under th