Home of Mercedes Benz, European, and Vintage Racing
My name is Chuck Ellis, Thanks for visiting my racing and automobile website. I drive, race, and restore European Automobiles. The primary track car is a 1987 Mercedes Benz 190E 2.3-16 valve. More info is listed below. I also have a 1973 450SL that I run in historic races and rallies. Other projects include a Ferrari, Alfa, and Triumph Spitfire. We are also prepping a Porsche 914 for track use. Read about the biggest and baddest race, the Damn the Torpedo Challenge, Athens to Saint Mary's Challenge below also. Here's the current list of vehicles:
First place S4O class in WorldCars 2003, Points Champion 2004, 2005, and 2006 SE GTS1 Challenge,( the German Touring Sportscar Challenge of NASA)
Athens to Saint Mary's DTT road race 2000-1st place, 2001 3rd place, 2003 9th place, 2004 2nd place,
Web Sites and NEW VIDEOS
Mercedes Benz website
NASA Road Racing Webpage
NASA Southeast page
Great page with good links on the 16 valve Mercedes
CLICK HERE FOR THE DAMN THE TORPEDOES RACE HOMEPAGE
GTS Challenge Homepage
VIDEO- Mercedes CLK GTR going vertical- Kids don't try this at home!
VIDEO-In car cam of Mercedes 16 valve blowing past a BMW
My personal information
Please visit my shop: "Balanced Performance Motorsports", a speed and racing shop near Road Atlanta in Sugar Hill GA. Please call, e-mail, or visit our site for all your performance and dyno needs. Click the box above to access our site and contact information.
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A few pics from my last trip to Germany.
Here's the 430 towing the race car to Talledega and the DTT champion 1973 450sl.
Another playtoy...
Here is more information on the rare 190E 2.3-16 valve Cosworth.
Here's the specs on the Mercedes 190E 16 valve race car. As Karl benz said, "Either the best, or nothing" It has been equiped with Borbet Wheels, Kumho Victoracer v-700 Tires 225/50ZR/15, Brembo Crossdrilled rotors, Porterfield R-4 Racing Pads, Racing Throttle Body, and Corbeau Seats. I have also done some exterior modifications, weight reduction including the removal of the rear seat, AC, and lower heatsheilds. Rollbar, window net, Dual Racing Rear wing, fire system and restraints. Amsoil synthetics front to rear. Also, a complete 2 1/2" Mandrel Exhaust system has been installed. To make it race legal I've had to add a fuel sample port and modify the SRS,ABS, and steering lock. It can run in the ITS class in SCCA, but my primary series is the German Touring Sportscar series with NASA.
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Here I am getting the GTS1 trophy at Roebling Road.
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Few people know that the Mercedes Benz 190E 2.3-16V-models was actually developed for rallying. The 190 might seem like a strange rally-car, but in 1979 when it was conceived, the 2.3-16 with its sturdy chassis and rear-wheel drive was deemed capable. But when this idea was hatched Mercedes hadn't come up with a beefy enough engine, so they chose to seek expertise outside their own company, they found the expertise they needed from Cosworth Engineering of Northampton.
The plans to conquer rallying again were aborted. As a road car the 2.3-16 did surprisingly well, but Mercedes Benz was overtaken by events, and the four-wheel drive era was already under way when the car was launched. But Mercedes Benz wanted to make use of this extraordinary car, so they used it for racing instead.
Endurance Records were set in August of 1983 at Nardo, Italys 12.6- km oval. A team of drivers and crew fielded three identical 190E 2.3-16s, which covered 50,000 km in 201 hours. Including fuel and maintenance stops the cars averaged 154mph. The engine literally ran at 6,000 rpm for eight days around the clock.
Sedan Series Racing is Europes equivalent to NASCAR. Mercedes successfully teamed up with AMG and other aftermarket sources to create a competition 190 Sedan. Aarton Senna, Alan Probst, and other up-start F-1 drivers were employed. Senna, often considered the most talented driver in history, won his first championship of any kind in 1983 at the wheel of a 190E 2.3-16.
The Factory/Aftermarket Consortium integrated engineering from some of the worlds leaders. AMG, Cosworth, Bosch, ZF, Recaro, VDO, and others worked with the factory engineers in the creation and execution of the car. During its three-year run (85-87) less than 2,000 were imported into the USA. During this same period over 120,000 regular 190s were imported. The success of this model helped lead to today's limited edition AMG/Mercedes models.
Factory Specifications:
2.3 Liter Four cylinder sixteen-valve twin-cam engine 167-185 hp, rev limited to 6,800 rpm
Five speed close ratio transmission. (1:1 in 5th gear)
Hydra-Pneumatic rear suspension- from the 300.
Leather Sport Seats- front and rear (unique rear contoured bench).
ABS Disc Brakes all around- from the 300E
Aerodynamic body moldings by AMG- Painted on factory line.
Tuned exhaust header system, tapered tubes, low restriction
Limited Slip rear axle with 3.64:1 ratio.
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Applications for this year's Damn the Torpedoes Challenge are Closed!! We had over 50 cars make the run last year. This is a 300 mile plus Road Race that runs from Athens, GA to St. Mary's on the Georgia coast. As long as your car is at least 25 years old you can enter. Entry fee is only 100 dollars.
The website for this race is www.damn-the-torpedoes.com
Please e-mail me at: CEllis805@juno.com if need more information about this race.
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Here's a little something for all my GTS BMW buddies
Thank you for visiting my racing page
Please come back and visit again!
-----------------------------------------GOODBYE !!!--------------------------------------
