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Tag: 1981

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1981 Mercedes-Benz 280SL 5-speed manual – REVISIT

The 1981 Mercedes-Benz 280SL equipped with a 5-speed manual that we featured last year has turned up once again. While 560SL prices start to soar, the time is ripe to explore other R107s for a potential value. If you want something unique, at least to the US market, this one is for you.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1981 Mercedes-Benz 280SL on eBay

The below post originally appeared on our site November 11, 2014:

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1981 Mercedes-Benz 280CE 4-speed manual – REVISIT

The 1981 Mercedes-Benz 280CE 4-speed manual we saw last October is back up for auction, not having met its reserve the last time around. If you aren’t particularly a diesel fan yet are intrigued by the durability of the W123, there are few better options than a Euro market CE coupe such as this.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1981 Mercedes-Benz 280CE on eBay

The below post originally appeared on our site October 1, 2014:

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1981 Porsche 924 Carrera GT

At first glance, you might mistake this Porsche for a 944, but it is in fact an early Group 4 homologation special for Le Mans. The 924 Carrera GT was one of the first glimpses as to the performance potential of Porsche’s new front-engined, four-cylinder wonder. The folks at flüssig magazine gave us a nice retrospective last year with regards to the development of competition 924s that would go on to influence the 944. With 210 horsepower on tap, the 924 Carrera GT was a considerable step up in performance from any 924 that had previously been seen. Only 406 examples were produced, making this wide hipped 924 quite the rarity. This example for sale in New York is certainly going to get fans of the early water-cooled models excited.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1981 Porsche 924 Carrera GT on Hemmings Motor News

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1981 Porsche 924 Carrera GTR

The late 1970s and early 1980s were a trans-formative time for Porsche. After a long string of successes with the Porsche 911 and 917 on the race track, they were moving into new territory with a series of front engined cars. Not only were these cars appearing on the race track, though; Porsche intended the 928 and 924 to be the replacements for its aging 911/912 lineup. The result was a special time for water-cooled fans, as Porsche spent a considerable amount of time and resources in between the end of the 917 project and the beginning of the new 956 project on the front engined 924. In order to tie the model to performance and wins on the track, Porsche undertook an ambitious racing schedule, entering the 924 in everything from showroom production-based “D-Production” in SCCA to the World Rally Championship and Le Mans. The resulting lineup of impressive turbocharged 924s have become legendary, but ultimately they’re much more rare to come across than their 911/934/935 counterparts. Still, in the early 1980s they were cutting edge – 2,000 lbs, 400+ horsepower and massive flares hiding 935-spec BBS center-lock magnesium wheels. Sound awesome? You better believe it:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1981 Porsche 924 Carrera GTR on eBay

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1981 Porsche 924 Weissach Commemorative Edition

It seems that Porsche has always been at the cutting edge of “special editions”. In fact, one could argue that the entire idea of the Porsche was really just a special edition Volkswagen. But by the late 1970s, race victories and a growing reputation as the go-to sports car meant that the marketing gurus at Porsche were working overtime. There was the Sebring ’78 edition 924; it looked an awful lot on paper like it was a normal 924, and that’s because effectively it was just a cosmetic package with some ’70s spectacular stripes. There was also a Martini Edition car, that similarly was simply a set of stripes and a unique interior on an otherwise normal 924. There was a further Limited Edition in 1978 for those that had missed out on the Martini cars in 1976-1977 and just couldn’t wait until 1979 for the ’78 Sebring Edition. Confused? Not to worry, because after a short gap in 1980, Porsche introduced another special “Weissach Commemorative Edition” alongside similar 911 and 928 models. While this, too, was primarily an appearance package, there were some small changes. For example, as with the Martini cars the Weissach got a unique interior; brown and cream seats with a brown dashboard. But there were 924 Turbo details that were included as well – the ATS-made alloy wheels from the drum brake Turbo appeared, along with the rear spoiler. The wheels were slightly different than the all-silver Turbo wheels too, as they appeared two-tone machined with black inserts. Painted a platinum metallic color and “limited” to only 400 production models for the U.S., it at least sounded more special than the standard 924 until you realize that Porsche only sold a total of around 2,100 924s (including the Weissachs) in the U.S. in 1981. As with other older 924s, they’re rare to find and not as prized as the 928 and 911 Weissach models:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1981 Porsche 924 Weissach Commemorative Edition on eBay

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