One-of-a-kind Brabus 3.6 S Lightweight Is Also One Of The Baddest Mercedes 190Es Out There

The pinnacle of the Mercedes 190E might be the iconic 2.5-16 Evo II but if you’re after a more raw experience, then this one-off Brabus 3.6S Lightweight might be the answer.

The famous Mercedes tuner is known for creating some of the planet’s most impressive brutes but in this case, we’re looking at a proper motorsport-inspired performance car; you could say that this is the GT3 RS of the 190E family.

Back in 1988, Brabus revealed the prototype 190E 3.6S. The company wanted to push the boundaries of a saloon and created a 190E that had no air conditioning, less sound insulation, no rear seats and a 3.6-liter straight six engine under the bonnet.

It was a fantastic concept but apparently Brabus customers requested from the company to reinstate the air-conditioning and rear seats in their cars. Even the prototype lightweight car was converted into the first Brabus 190E 3.6-24 after having its rear seats and air-con back in place. This could be the end of Brabus’ lightweight 190E but thankfully it wasn’t.

In 2008, 20 years after the debut of the prototype Lightweight, Sven Gramm, the PR Director of Brabus, commissioned the company to produce a new one. The car is true to that first concept, featuring only two seats, air conditioning delete, an aluminum roll cage and Kevlar bucket seats among other.

The project used a 190E 2.6E as a donor car and had the original 2.6-liter straight-six engine enlarged to 3.6-liters. The powerplant now produces 286hp and 269 lb-ft. Brabus claims a 0-62mph in 6.3 seconds and a top speed of 158mph, making the 3.6 S Lightweight faster than the iconic Evo II by three tenths of a second and by three mph respectively.

This rather gorgeous car is now offered for sale from Fast Classics with a full history file that includes a huge photographic record of the build as well. As for the price, the world’s only Brabus 3.6 S Lightweight can be yours for £131,995 (around $176k in current exchange rates).