Salmon meets Sepang

The Mercedes 190E is kind of a legend by its own. But for the 37-year-old family man from Wipperfürth this was only the beginning of a journey to the motorsport homologation model lookalike.

Derived from the series car, in 1990, Mercedes launched only 502 units of the 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II, rare collector’s items today. “For less than ten grand I will completely modify my baby Benz in the Evo II look, install air suspension and fancy wheels, and using plenty of carbon I will create a sporty interior – and my masterpiece will be complete”. That was Falk’s ambitious plan as part of which he has opted for our DOTZ Sepang that now round off his Mercedes in a white finish.

The path from the idea to the finished Benz in the racing look was interspersed with creativity since the limited project budget kept raising the question: “HOW will I fulfil this dream?”. Whatever money Falk saved he obviously had to invest in time. Roughly one year and many hundreds of hours later, Falk achieved everything he had in mind through intense labour of love in his own garage.

He embraces the possibility of people calling him a “weirdo”. After all, he accomplished the impossible, and his Mercedes in the Evo look – affectionately called “The Salmon” – is an eyecatcher in a class of its own. And one thing is for sure: When such a crazy endeavour pans out, a certain amount of craziness comes with the territory.

The Salmon’s colour design is also exceptional. Thanks to digital print design car wrapping on a salmon “piggy bank” foundation, underbody lighting, and many colour accentuations, there really is nobody who could not have an opinion on this car. It’s simply incomparable.

On Instagram, Falk presents both the Salmon and the tuning project itself with exciting before/after pics. To say it in Falk’s words: #dotzseidank [Engl. Thanks to Dotz] the 8×19 inches ET45 wheels with 225/30R19 tyres all around also make heads turn thanks to their generous dimensions. The DOTZ Sepang in white finish is simply the perfect add-on for this motorsport-inspired masterpiece. The Sepang’s extended cross-spoke design featuring an asymmetrical ring makes for an extroverted turbo mesh look.

Let’s get back to this passionate gearhead’s skills: Motorsports is the central theme of the many visible carbon elements all of which have been crafted by Falk himself. Front spoiler splitter, middle bumper section, grille, the massive rear wing flap, wiper arms on windshield and headlights, exterior mirrors and door handles, just to name a few. All shimmering in the characteristic fibre structure. Other details such as the Mercedes star, the tailgate lock or the parking pole are in matte black. The taillights and red indicators as well as the ventilation grilles in the rear windows testify both to technical skill and inexhaustible, individual wealth of ideas.

The interior boasts carbon and extravagant details. Ample black Alcantara, red seatbelts as well as an Airride pressure display integrated into a Jack Daniels/coke can complete the extrovert look. For the Salmon to double up as a family ride, Falk has made the removable show roll-over bars himself, much to the joy of his small daughter.

The highlight: JP Performance has shot a video on the Salmon. Even Jean-Pierre Krämer is blown away by the tuning effort. In the video, Falk also raves about the rims: “I have immense love for DOTZ!” – We thoroughly appreciate that. You must check out the video!

Speeding is not what the fake Evo is all about, with Falk being pretty relaxed about it and not taking himself too seriously: “I’m old and fat, speeding is not for me!” #dotzseidank we can call an original like Falk a member of our DOTZ community.