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I still remember well the first time I got to hold a magnesium wheel – I was at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut, and a bit of a joking and free-loving owner of a Pantera literally threw one – complete with steam-roller tire – towards me with the tagline “Here, catch!”. Grimacing in the impending pain I was about to experience as this dishwasher-box sized wheel lobbed at me came closer, I reached out and caught it, fearful that I would be on the hook for the wheel’s cost when I dropped it even though this joker wouldn’t be by my hospital bed for the multi-week recovery from my collapsed lungs and broken ribs. To my shock, I caught the wheel, and my tensed muscles experienced nearly no shock. It was comical how light the wheel was; something I wouldn’t experience again until I picked up a Formula One Ferrari wheel years later. Today, there is a set of ultra-rare OZ Racing wheels on Ebay for a very reasonable price:
Year: 1993
Model: Tarmac Rally
Diameter: 17″
Width: 8″
Bolt Pattern: 4×108
Offset: Not Listed
Condition: Used
Tires: Not Included
Price: $1,155 Buy It Now
When my father started his foray into German cars, I was a young teenager. The first car he bought was a 1982 BMW 633CSi; to my eyes, still a beautiful car. Shortly after that he bought a companion 1985 635CSi automatic; and even though that car wasn’t quite as pretty as the earlier shark and was an automatic, it was much more fun to drive. It wasn’t because of the displacement increase in the motor, but rather the changeover to E28 mechanicals that really transformed the E24 from what was a stunning looker into a real driver’s car. These later 6s usually carry a bit of a premium over the early models, though truth be told the E24 market is really in a state of fluctuation where you can buy great looking cars for a steal or see very overpriced examples that need work. Currently falling into the former category is today’s black over cream 1986 model, sporting lower miles and the all-important 5-speed manual:
What was the first BMW Z car? Ask any American on the street and they’ll probably tell you the Z3, otherwise known as the car from the James Bond flick, Goldeneye. That answer would be incorrect. The first Z was the Z1, built between 1989 and 1991 with 8,000 copies produced. Noted mainly for its doors that retracted into the side of the vehicle, this roadster was based on E30 3 series mechanicals and featured new technology that would trickle down into the rest of the BMW range. The Z axle rear suspension would go on to be used in the E36 3 series and high intensity discharge lights would appear on many future BMW models. Curiously, no Z1 came fitted with air conditioning, as there was limited room in the interior for both heating elements and the cooling unit. This particular Z1 is for sale in just north of Hamburg, Germany.
A little over a month ago, I wrote up one of the last air-cooled Porsche race cars to roll out of the factory – the mighty 993 RSR 3.8. Despite being a factory race car with lots of history, it didn’t manage to sell on Race-Cars.com and now has popped up on Ebay. I mentioned in the write up that you could replicate this car for much less than the asking price, though the value was in the factory build and the history. That value has gotten slightly worse since not selling, because the owner has raised the opening bid $30,000 to $295,000. It’s a strange tactic to take when your car doesn’t sell, but despite that the car is still really neat to peek at!
-Carter
While we’re still a year away from importing the first 1990 Audi S2s, in 1989 Audi released the new Coupe. The car the United States got started coming in late 1989, and while the world received several engine and drivetrain options, the U.S. only got the quattro variant with the 2.3 20V “7A” powerplant for two years before the Coupe was pulled from these shores. That hasn’t stopped plenty of people from making S2 replicas while we wait until 2015 to start importing real S2s. However, for something a little bit different, the first 1989 coupes are now importable. This particular variant is a front wheel drive replacement for the aging Coupe GT model, though it effectively picked up the same 2.3 10V “NG” drivetrain that the United States saw in the 1987.5 Coupe GT “Special Build” models. Not often thought of as an option, one of these handsome front drivers is for sale today on Ebay.de: