This was the closest competitor to the E30 M3. That right there is the 1987 Mercedes 190 E cosworth.
This car is what you call an homologation special, meaning that its a track car redesigned for the road. Same as the BMW M3. And the thought that it wouldn't sell didn't only go through BMW's mind's but also Mercedes, but boy were they wrong.
These litte buggers sold like hot cakes. Selling an impressive 19400 whereas they only needed to sell around 3000 to enter it in the National Touring Car Championship. And this outsold the M3, which only shipped out 17970.
Now it wasn't surprising that the 190 outsold the M3 because it was cheaper, safer, had more equipment, was more practical sincing it had 4-doors instead of 2 and was more comfortable.
The engine was a 2.3 litre 4 cylinder 16 valve, which produced 185 bhp and 236 N.M of torque which took the 190 from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 8 seconds and carried on to a top speed of 230 km/h.
But if anyone reading this is considering buying one like this. Well I hate to burst your bubble but prices for one in good condition will set you back around 32000 dollars. So yeah you might need to save quite a few bucks to buy one but it truly will be worth it.