Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
The Grey 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Coupe we featured in early July has come back up for auction. This time the starting bid has been lowered from $49,500 to $39,500, but it is up as a reserve auction rather than with no reserve. The seller probably will not have budged much on price, but hopefully we’ll at least see some bids this time around. Whether it will meet the seller’s reserve, we will have to see.
The E30 Touring influx continues to flow, helping pull prices down and increasing the variety of available models. Having the fastest possible option is always a nice idea, but there is something extremely appealing about having a base model workhorse that wasn’t originally available here. This 318i won’t be a racer, but it will be useful! It’s right-hand drive, which immediately makes me think of using it as a small-town mail or newspaper delivery vehicle. With even US-spec E30s going for more money all the time, does rarity and a funny steering position rationalize dropping almost $10k on a base model?
In my recent “Gimmie Five” 10K Friday, I charted some of the developments of the venerable Audi powerplant. Though the Eurovan would continue using I-5s in some applications, ostensibly 1997 would see the end of the line for the original configuration with the discontinuation of the S6 even if it’s returned in spirit in the new 07k turbocharged 5 seen in the TTRS and RS3. Those cars are the successors of the original small turbocharged Audis; the Quattro and the S2 coupe and Avant, and while we briefly got the 10V Quattro, none of the later small turbocharged variants came to the U.S.. For enthusiasts that were unwilling to wait for either the new models to launch or the European models to become legally eligible for importation, a popular pursuit has been to recreate the turbocharged package in the small chassis. Adding the turbocharged motor in 20V form instantly transformed the B3 and B4 into performance machines, and with plenty of tunability in the package it was possible to create a really serious package. That tuning has been taken to another level by an entire generation of new electronic fuel injection management which exploits the longevity and stout construction of the inline-5 and makes absolute monsters. Sure, it was impressive that Audi produced versions that managed the best part of 1,000 horsepower in certain tune in the 1980s – but that, of course, was a major manufacturer with near unlimited budget. What’s more impressive is that small tuning firms subsequently have been able not only to match but to exceed those power levels, with companies like 034 Motorsport and Dahlback Racing making 1,100 – 1,200 plus horsepower variants on their own. Even though the B3 chassis is fairly heavy, if you can turn up that boost to high levels you’ve got yourself a rocketship – and this S2 replica certainly has the right ingredients for that recipe:
Here’s a nice, mostly-stock Westy that comes with a funny little bonus trailer on the back. I’m not sure how the “solar panel toolbox” works (is the battery inside?), but I like it already and dig the Westfalia badging. It seems a little excessive to just haul bikes on it – that’s what bike racks are for! – but there are plenty of uses for a good trailer. Dirtbike? Scooter? All the stuff you can’t fit inside? Anyway, it may not be the most minimalist, self-contained setup, but who cares when there’s no reserve on it? It looks clean in and out with the main detraction being rather high mileage.
There is a 964 I frequently see around my neighborhood and each time I come across it I come to appreciate the design more and more. They are rarely seen cars around these parts so this is one of the few I have the opportunity to see on the road. The 964 has a presence about it that I do not feel from other 911s. The classic 911 that preceded it, and I should be clear that I love the classic 911, shows its age to a certain degree and its slightly less muscular form doesn’t captivate the senses quite as well. On the other side, the 993 almost is too elegant. When you see one it looks expensive even today. There was a point where I considered the 964 to be neither here nor there; it had moved on from the classic design, but it had not yet taken on the sleek and curvy nature of the 993. I still see the 964 as existing in that intermediate space, but I have now begun to appreciate the way in which it strikes a balance between the earlier and later designs. What once I saw as flaws, now appear as significant features. The 964 we see here, a Grey 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Coupe located in Florida with 86,500 miles on it, reflects that sense of presence very well.
