Behold the V8-powered Frankenstein Benz.
Mercs from the 1980s have an undeniably cool, modern-retro charm about them but even the biggest fan in the world will have to admit that in terms of handling and performance, they fall well short of modern cars.
Piper Motorsport came to much the same conclusion and cooked up a mechanical mashup to remedy this discrepancy. The route it chose involved a 1980's 190E and a previous-gen 451-horsepower 6.2-liter V8-powered C63 AMG, wit the result called the Frankenstein Benz.
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Now there are plenty of mad engine swops around, but this project went way, way further than just that. For starters, both cars were stripped down to their bare shells, the C63 then donated its engine, gearbox, brakes, suspension, dashboard, and floorpan to the 190E.
That is quite a list and at first glance you might think that it surely would have been easier just to slap the 190E’s panels on the C63. Take a look at the extent of the modifications required to make these components fit and you will see why it could never have been done that way.
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Most people would be quite pleased with their V8-powered 190 but Piper Motorsport went one step further for its client and built a body kit for the old bodyshell that made it look just like an early ‘90s DTM touring car.
Seeing as this 190E made 136 hp from its 2.3-liter engine and even the E30 M3 rivalling 2.5-liter EVOs topped out at 235 hp, the Frankenstein Benz is clearly in another league altogether.
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The story could have ended there, and the build was actually put on hold for around a year, but just this month new images were uploaded to the company’s Facebook page which showed that the already potent V8 had gained a supercharger and some very cool DTM-styled wheels along with a full respray in black.
Further details on what kind of power the car is now making aren’t available just yet but if you see a strangely aggressive sounding quad-exhausted 190E prowling the streets, be sure to give it a very wide berth.
![]()
Mercs from the 1980s have an undeniably cool, modern-retro charm about them but even the biggest fan in the world will have to admit that in terms of handling and performance, they fall well short of modern cars.
Piper Motorsport came to much the same conclusion and cooked up a mechanical mashup to remedy this discrepancy. The route it chose involved a 1980's 190E and a previous-gen 451-horsepower 6.2-liter V8-powered C63 AMG, wit the result called the Frankenstein Benz.
Now there are plenty of mad engine swops around, but this project went way, way further than just that. For starters, both cars were stripped down to their bare shells, the C63 then donated its engine, gearbox, brakes, suspension, dashboard, and floorpan to the 190E.
That is quite a list and at first glance you might think that it surely would have been easier just to slap the 190E’s panels on the C63. Take a look at the extent of the modifications required to make these components fit and you will see why it could never have been done that way.
Most people would be quite pleased with their V8-powered 190 but Piper Motorsport went one step further for its client and built a body kit for the old bodyshell that made it look just like an early ‘90s DTM touring car.
Seeing as this 190E made 136 hp from its 2.3-liter engine and even the E30 M3 rivalling 2.5-liter EVOs topped out at 235 hp, the Frankenstein Benz is clearly in another league altogether.
The story could have ended there, and the build was actually put on hold for around a year, but just this month new images were uploaded to the company’s Facebook page which showed that the already potent V8 had gained a supercharger and some very cool DTM-styled wheels along with a full respray in black.
Further details on what kind of power the car is now making aren’t available just yet but if you see a strangely aggressive sounding quad-exhausted 190E prowling the streets, be sure to give it a very wide berth.
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