Never did I think I would have a casting collection of a Hot Wheels Mercedes. If you asked me about five years ago, I probably would have told you that #Mercedes — especially the older ones — are boring. Outside of the 1997 First Editions release of the Mercedes C-Class, I had never really held onto any Mercedes castings. Any I had actually bought, ended up going in collection purges.

Recently, there were several years where Hot Wheels did not even have the Mercedes license. My collection went on unabated. Then, in 2016, Hot Wheels got the Mercedes license back for the 2017 model year — and since then, they have been pumping out some sweet #Mercedes castings! My favorites are the newer cars like the #’15 Mercedes-AMG GT and the #’16 Mercedes-AMG GT3, but I also love the older-style #Unimogs as well.

When #Mercedes did return to Hot Wheels lineup in 2017, the #Car Culture line was graced with a brand-new casting, the #Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 EVO II. I call it the “190E” for short, while I’ve heard others refer to it as the “Cosworth EVO”. I went on to do a little research and discovered the real, 1:1 190E was a badass car by 1990 standards; and realized the initial Hot Wheels all-black Modern Classics release embodied that well. Could I be falling for one of those “boring old Mercedes”?

Hot Wheels Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 EVO II CASTING COLLECTION (Family Photo, July 2019)

By the end of 2018, we saw two more releases of the #190E as it was released in #Car Culture again — and it was black, again — but this time it featured a Project Cars 2 racing livery. You couldn’t help but wonder if #Mercedes was only going to allow this car to be painted black. THEN, the Hot Wheels team dropped a bombshell on us as they teamed up with the apparel company, Period Correct, to deliver an insanely cool, vintage-racing-inspired, 190E. Its among the most-detailed Hot Wheels out there as the release features a full-wrap that is done to the highest of Hot Wheels standards. I was lucky enough to get one of these without paying an arm-and-a-leg on the secondary market, and it continues to climb as one of my favorite pieces in my vast collection.

In 2019, we’ve seen two releases of the #190E already. It appeared in #Car Culture for the third-straight year, while also appearing in the Car Culture spinoff: Team Transport. The MOMO and Falken liveries look great, but the original Modern Classics release and Period Correct one sit atop as my favorites in this very young casting collection.

Whats your favorite of the five #190Es released so far? Let us know in the comments below!