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Tag: 1988

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Motorsports Monday: 1988 Audi 200 quattro Trans Am

Motorsports Monday: 1988 Audi 200 quattro Trans Am

Published February 29, 2016 by Carter

One of the things I love the most about Audi is that for some time they liked to do things differently. Now, if you’re Porsche and you’re able to build a reputation around that insistence to do things differently through racing, then you can be a successful company. As such, the closely linked cousin Audi was taken racing by some of the same team from Porsche. The first big attempt in the 1980s was the push to win the World Rally Championship with their new Quattro model. Highlighting turbocharged technology coupled with a semi-revolutionary all-wheel drive system, the Quattro was a positive sensation until the mid-1980s and the death of Group B. Audi then took on Group A with the non-turbo Coupe quattro briefly, and also enjoyed some unlikely success rallying with their 200 sedan. But even success in World Rally Championship events wasn’t enough of a reputation boost for what lay ahead of Audi next, as 60 Minutes highhandedly nearly took the company right out of the marketplace. In order to rebuild the reputation of the company in the U.S., Quattro guru Jo Hoppen convinced Audi to go racing in the SCCA Trans-Am series. Headlining that series were tube-frame V8 behemoths that outwardly laughed as a production based luxury sedan with a measly 2.1 turbocharged inline-5 hanging way out the front pulled up to grid. It turned out they didn’t laugh too long:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 Audi 200 quattro Trans Am at Auto Collections

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1988 BMW 325ix

1988 BMW 325ix

Published February 28, 2016 by Nate

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We don’t see much of the 325ix around here (though Carter’s recent 325ix touring was a special treat), as they seem to have mostly died undignified deaths in Colorado and the northeast. This Vermonter has somehow survived without too much damage, not even showing any of the usual rust that appears around the M-Tech II bodykit. It’s covered the better part of 200k miles and has a few flaws (note to the seller: saying that “the car need a power sterring holes fot the power streeing to work again, and the paking brake is not woking now” four lines after “a lot money spent to keep it in top running condition” does not inspire trust. However, this is a rare 5-speed coupe E30 with all wheel drive, so it still warrants a close look.

Click for details: 1988 BMW 325ix on eBay

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1988 Porsche 930 Coupe

1988 Porsche 930 Coupe

Published February 26, 2016 by Rob

Last week I featured a Grand Prix White 911 Turbo 3.6 and talked about how the 964 is one of the models I particularly enjoy in white. With this Grand Prix White 1988 Porsche 930 Coupe I think we see a nice contrast in the way the two models showcase that paint. For me, the 964 shows much better for reasons I probably couldn’t explain, but I think much of it comes down to the prevalence of the black trim on each model. Others may have the opposite reaction; I’ve found that a white exterior tends to do that with cars. With their respective interiors we have a much different story. I love the contrast of the Burgundy interior on this 930. It works phenomenally with the Grand Prix White exterior and is far superior to the boring Grey we saw on the 964. So with both Turbos we have a little bit of a mixed bag, at least regarding the exterior and interior colors. Returning to this 930, the mileage here is reasonable for its age, though higher than most 930s we come across. So long as it has been well maintained that shouldn’t be of too much concern and should allow for it to sell at a much more reasonable price than lower-mileage examples.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 Porsche 930 Coupe on eBay

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1988 Volkswagen LT28 Westfalia

1988 Volkswagen LT28 Westfalia

Published February 25, 2016 by Nate

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We’ve posted some interesting variations on the Volkswagen LT vans, the plus-sized Vanagons that never came to the US. From firetrucks to zombie defense vehicles to race team vans, they’re like VW’s Sprinter. Today’s LT28 model, indicating the lightest gross vehicle weight available (they went up to the LT55), is a special edition form Westfalia called the “Sven Hedin,” the Swedish world explorer. The bigger size of the LT allows for more amenities than would ever fit in a T3 like a shower, while the hightop makes standing up much more comfortable. The size and rarity are definitely the main draws here, as it’s showing some wear after its 125k miles and 28 years. The interior looks original but droopy, especially the wall-mounted cloth storage sacks. The exterior shows some cracked and possibly redone paint areas, and the incredible blue stripes have seen better days. All of the thick plastic Westfalia interior bits look great though and the turbodiesel inline-6 should be just getting into its prime, so as long as there aren’t a bunch of rust spots hiding, I think it has a lot of potential as a plus-sized camper.

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1988 BMW M3

1988 BMW M3

Published January 30, 2016 by Nate

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We may no longer be able to day dream about owning an E30 M3, but we can at least take a moment to pause and reflect that we’ve been observers of one of the most insane rises in values ever. According to Hagerty, over the last 5 years Councours and Excellent values have increased fivefold, while Good and Fair values have merely tripled. If you took $20k out of the stock market in 2011 and bought a nice E30 M3, your money would have performed over 10 times better than staying with Dow Jones. And that’s during the period of huge economic recovery – DJIA was barely 12,000 at the beginning of 2011.

(E30 M3 Values – Concours, Excellent, Good, Fair)
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(Below, the black line is the DJIA)
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With that in mind, we must accept that even extremely high-mileage E30 M3s like this 1988 Hennarot example are reaching $40k. It spent almost all of its life with an older woman in SoCal, being well cared for with a high quality repaint in 2009. The current seller is just the second owner and has allegedly owned over 60 BMWs, including 2 other E30 M3s. His fiancée is making him get rid of it (but he’s keeping the new M6, 1M, and 330i ZHP…). It doesn’t sound like money is an issue here and I’m sure the $38.5k asking price is more than he bought it for. But even if E30 M3 appreciation slows down, wouldn’t it still be worth it to pay for a storage garage and let it make you money?

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