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Part of the allure of vehicle tuning is to create something that a particular manufacturer may have glossed over. Whether it was a particular body style that wasn’t offered with a certain type of engine, or perhaps a special livery never attempted, there a number of ways towards making that bespoke machine of your dreams. This 2002 you are seeing here has been breathed on heavily. It pays homage to the 2002 turbo, but has been beefed up with a 3.0 liter, twin-turbo inline-6 mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. We’ve seen a few inline-6 swaps into 2002s before, but nothing quite as bonkers as this machine. Thanks to our friends at Classic Car Club Manhattan for the tip!
Yesterday I pulled up behind a lightly modded 1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEC in my Audi Coupe. It was interesting, having them parked together and considering that they were produced only 1 year apart, yet the target audience for each was so vastly different. The Audi, steeped in modernity and full of angles, appeared short and lithe next to the Leviathan Mercedes. It was the last of the 1970s dinosaurs that somehow was still roaming the earth in the early 1990s, shouting and stomping around the land that time forgot. Yet there’s an inherent appeal in these cars too; beyond build quality and luxury, even beyond the fluid design of the pillarless coupe. There’s just something that is right about the C126, and pop some period AMG bits on and roll it in the period drug of choice, all that is missing is the Miami Vice soundtrack and some rolled up white sport coat sleeves:
For many, the top dog of the E31 lineup for BMW was the 850CSi. Others will contest that aftermarket tuner Alpina got it just right with their modification of the 850CSi, the B12 5.7 Coupe. Let’s be honest though – great condition examples of those cars are hardly affordable for most, and the exotic performance comes with some potentially costly maintenance on the big V12. But I think our reader John may have spotted the perfect alternative to those cars, and it’s a bit unusual. When BMW launched the 840Ci, I remember initially thinking it was a bit of a letdown. After all, the company was seemingly running away from the signature V12 and replacing it with a smaller and less powerful V8. That, in many ways, doesn’t seem like progress. But the M60 produced 9/10s of the power of the M70, yet was less expensive and got better fuel economy. Of course, unfortunately it was also only available in the U.S. with the 5-speed automatic – and it was a lot less powerful than the CSi model. At least most of them are…
Such is the pedestal AMG products are placed upon, perhaps it’s only Ruf that is better regarded as the leading tuning firm from Germany in the 1980s. Combining revised suspension, special exhaust and warmed over motors, AMG managed to straddle the line between outrageous and tasteful in the 1980s perfectly with wild body modifications that somehow worked just perfectly. Inside, they were the most opulent German cars you could buy with power seats and all the luxury items you’d expect from a top-tier luxury manufacturers. But the bad boys from Affalterbach, like the Ruf cars, managed to be more than the sum of their parts – a total package that is still stunning today. They didn’t just bolt on a bunch of bits to make a go-faster car. AMG redefined the packages of the car, bringing them to another level. Today we have two examples to consider from the end of AMG’s independence – which is the perfect creation from the 1980s for you?
Properly speaking I’m not sure if we’d normally count this Ruby Red 1963 Porsche 356B Carrera 2 as a “tuner,” but given that these were the hot Porsche of their day it fits the bill as well as most anything else. While a 356 may not get your blood going the way a RUF built 930 might, they will always hold a place in my heart and with the 4-cam Carrera engine these are more of a racer than many of Porsche’s later builds. They are small, light, and relatively simple machines fitted with the best mechanical additions Porsche could muster. Add to that their rarity and you end up with one of the most valuable Porsches on the market and easily the most valuable examples of the 356. The example we see here appears in exquisite condition, but sounds as if the original 1.6 liter 4-cam flat-four is no longer with the car. In its place, we find a 2.0 liter flat-four from a Carrera 2 GT producing a reported 160 hp. For a car as basic as the 356 that is the sort of motivation that will get you moving in no time at all!
