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Time for another edition of “Very niche knowledge of German car facts that almost no one will know.” We of course all know about the 2002 Volkswagen GTI 337 Edition that was sold in the US to celebrate 25 years of the GTI, only for it to be one-upped by the GTI 20th Anniversary edition literally a year later to celebrate 20 years of the GTI in the US. The interesting thing about the 337 Edition was all 1,500 in the US and all 250 examples in Canada were only offered in a single color: Reflex Silver Metallic.
However, the 337 was itself a reaction to a special model in Europe called the 25th Anniversary Edition, because while that was true for Europe and not true for the US. In addition, Europe had two more color choices in addition to Reflex Silver with Tornado Red (clear coat peeling was no extra charge) and today’s color – Diamond Black. To go even a step further, the right-hand drive UK cars all had a special plaque on them that individually numbered each car but for some reason, they put the plaque on the fuse box cover that can only be seen when the door is open. I wish I was making that up.
As ’80s-All-Things-M-Mania’ has continued, getting into a clean E28 M5 is increasingly difficult – and expensive. Decently clean original M5s now start around $30,000 and can head up from there, with really exceptional examples selling for $50,000 or more. Didn’t this used to be the “cheap” M? Those days have passed and don’t show signs of returning soon.
What’s an enthusiast to do? Well, you could build your own. It’s not cheap or easy, but hey – if you’re in it to win it, why not see if you can source all the parts yourself? Or (and this is a much better option…) you buy one that has already been converted to M-specs. To maximize your investment, look for one with a rare set of parts attached, and preferably in European guise. Luckily, today we don’t have to look too far:
Like all Volkswagen models, Jettas seem to draw a very different crowd than the quite similar Golf, and generally that crowd (among enthusiasts anyways) has…
E34 M5s hold the weird middle ground between the original and the Beast. Not as historical as the E28 that started it all, nor as…
