The fastest I have run my 190e2.6 5speed is around 195kph (around 122mph), before my license flashed before my eyes and I backed off.

The 3-notch marking on the speedometer at around 100mph/160kph indicates the maximum speed you can attain in 3rd gear. The fact that there is no marking for 4th (or 5th) indicates that the car is drag-limited in 4th and 5th.

Aside from the camshaft, one other factor contributing to the peaky nature of the M103 is the design of the intake manifold - the runners are fixed and short, indicating that they are tuned for high-rpm operation. An engine tuned for low-end torque would have long intake runners, while one tuned for both low- and high-rpm operation would have variable-length or multi-stage runners.

This characteristic meshes very well with the smoothness of the inline-6, which sounds happy happy happy past 5000rpm.

This is a car bred for the autobahn, and it was born to run ...