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Tag: 2001

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2001 Audi S8

1Astute readers will have noticed that I don’t tend to write up many Audis. To be honest, I’m really more of a Mercedes/BMW guy and there aren’t that many cars from Ingolstadt that get me going. However, there are a few exceptions. I’ve always thought very highly of the B6 platform S4, the B7 RS4 and the D2 S8, the car that famously had a starring role in Ronin alongside an E34 M5. It should come as no surprise that I’m a fan of this generation S8: I like conservatively styled uber-sedans that conceal their power beneath restrained exteriors. Costing nearly $100k new depending on how they were specced, these cars now show up on the used market for between $5 and $15k depending on condition and miles. Of course, these were technologically advanced cars for their day with lots of expensive-to-replace components. So if you’re in the market for a bit of late 90s German stealthiness, condition and maintenance history matter the most.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 Audi S8 on Columbus Craigslist

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2001 Mercedes-Benz S500 Guard

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The last report I saw had 97% of the world’s governments owning a Mercedes-Benz S-Class. By process of elimination of car manufacturing countries, you can probably figure out which countries don’t need the services of the S-Class. Statistically, this means that some governments with less than stable political climates have been subject to attacks on politicians riding in the S-Class with some ending up OK while others ending tragically. A big part of that has to do with armoring.

In 1980, Anastasio Somoza, then President of Nicaragua, was attacked by a Sandinista commando team while riding in an armored W116. Two machine guns, two AK-47 assault rifles, two automatic pistols, and a RPG-7 rocket launcher with four anti-tank grenades and two rockets were used to bombard the car. One rocket even hit the upper part of the windshield and blew the roof off. Amazingly the car still ran but sadly, no one inside survived. In 1995, then Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze was attacked while riding in an armored W140 by a group yielding AK47s and was hit twice by RPGs. One hit the hood, the other hit the grill. Two body guards in the front seats didn’t survive but Shevardnadze? Riding in the rear of the car, he survived. In 2008, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s motorcade which included a model similar today’s featured car, an armored W220, was hit twice in the windows by gunfire. No surprise – if a rocket couldn’t get through, neither did the bullets.

That record of survival alone is worthy of us taking a look at this 2001 S500 Guard for sale in Los Angeles.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 Mercedes-Benz S500 Guard on eBay

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2001 BMW 740i Sport

1I don’t think BMW has produced an attractive 7-series since the E38, offered between 1994 and 2001. Sure, later versions of BMW’s flagship sedan are more impressive in other ways: larger, more powerful and more technologically advanced. But they aren’t what I would call classically beautiful. The E38 on the other hand, with its conservative, angular styling, graceful proportions and purposeful stance, is an extraordinarily handsome car. Because of depreciation, you can pick one up for relative pennies these days. For example, I wrote up an early model 740iL a few months ago advertised for just $3,800. But a car that cheap is bound to have expensive repair needs lurking beneath the surface. In truth, if you want a nice E38 that is mechanically sound, you have to spend a bit of money up front to save on potentially exorbitant costs further down the road.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 BMW 740i Sport on Bimmerforums

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2001 BMW 530i

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It’s been more than a decade since the E60 BMW 5 series debuted and most will agree that time hasn’t been too kind to that design. Too often, what is radical and forward thinking at a certain time becomes another man’s dated design a few years down the road. For many, however, the E39 5 series was the watershed for BMW’s mid-sized sedan. It brought us one of the most beloved M5s of all, packing a 4.9 liter V8 mated exclusively to a 6-speed manual gearbox. Offered in both sedan and Touring format with a wide range of engines, the bread and butter model would be the 530i, which could be optioned with a Sport Package for those looking to tart up their ride with some M bits, tighter suspension and more aggressive wheel and tire package. This 530i for sale in Arizona looks sharp in monochromatic Royal Red with the Style 66 alloy wheels.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 BMW 530i on eBay

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2001 Mercedes-Benz ML55 AMG

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Before the world of Porsche Cayenne Turbo, BMW X5M, and Audi SQ5, there was the W163 ML55 AMG. It was the quickest, fastest, best-handling and quite frankly the baddest SUV we’ve seen since the days of the Lamborghini LM002. The mad men at AMG decided to go borrow a couple a M113 engines from the E55 and squeeze it into the normally tame ML-Class. Then they threw some giant 285/50/18 tires on to keep it under control. They didn’t forget bulging fender flares to cover those massively wide tires either. What this left us with was a ML that would run 0-60 mph in 6.3 seconds and top out at over 150 mph. I’m trying to picture the faces of the workers in Alabama when this thing showed up from Affalterbach for final assembly. So let’s take a look at this 2001 ML55 AMG located in Miami.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 Mercedes-Benz ML55 AMG on MBWorld

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