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Despite strong bidding, this 1988 BMW 320i Touring failed to meet the reserve the seller was trying for; now with new 15″ Euroweave Nogaro-colored wheels that look great and a “Buy It Now” price of $13,900, is this the E30 Touring for you?
The below post originally appeared on our site March 14, 2014:
Paul was right that the Tourings are coming. Perhaps some owners have been holding on to them as forbidden gems and are realizing that, as the importation restrictions are lifted, they will become more and more common and are looking to cash out now. Today’s is a clean little wagon with some eccentricities among the nice choices; one sport seat/one comfort belong to the prior, the M20B25 and 5-speed conversion well in the latter. Bidding is hot, so clearly people are still more interested in finding one here than bringing it in themselves.
If you’ve been watching in dismay as E30 M3 prices have gone through the roof, there’s still two ways to get your 1980s German touring car fix. If you’re unconventional, you do what Audi did and choose the V8 quattro, the dark horse (and two time champion, don’t forget) of the DTM. People that complained that Audi “cheated” to create the winning force obviously aren’t familiar with the creative race constructions of Porsche, BMW or Mercedes-Benz. The latter, in fact, employed Formula 1 in the last of the barely-recognizable 190E racers. But the legend that was Mercedes-Benz created a lesser-known and generally lesser appreciated legend in those 190E racers; powered by Cosworth Technology-designed twin-cam 16 valve engines and originally intended to replace the 450SLC 5.0 in the World Rally Championship, the 190E 2.3 and 2.5-16 Valves found themselves at home on the track, and consequently with an enthusiastic fan base. Today, the 190E 2.3 16V can generally be had for significantly less than their more famous counterpart, the E30 M3. Take a look at this example:
With all of the attention lavished upon the ever-escalating market for air-cooled Porsches, performance values do remain on the market and there are still plenty of buyers looking for their next toy rather than their next investment. It is almost always the case that the easiest place to start for a performance bargain is the 996 Turbo. To be clear, these are not necessarily cheap cars; you aren’t finding a good one for $15K. But, with more than 400 hp being delivered to all four wheels via a 6-speed transmission, the overall performance capabilities of the 996 Turbo are very difficult to beat in terms of bang for your buck. For ultimate performance, buyers should look for one with the factory X50 package, but even a non-X50-equipped Turbo is still very quick. The example featured here is a Seal Gray 2003 Porsche 911 Turbo, located in Connecticut, with 46,510 miles on the clock.
Porsche must be the king of obscure special models; it seems nearly every week there’s some limited edition model virtually no one has heard of comes up for sale, generally with some premium attached to the asking price because of their rarity. But while many of these limited edition cars didn’t make it to the United States, one that did was the special edition of the 924S. Sure, the 924S wasn’t the most popular car in the Porsche lineup and still isn’t, but it was a competent performer and sold reasonably well. 1988 saw the 924S bump up compression with a touch more horsepower, so if you’re in the market look for one of the already more rare to find 1988 editions. But if you want really rare, to celebrate its Le Mans victories Porsche launched a special edition of the 1988 model; dubbed the “924S SE” in the U.S. and “924S Le Mans” everywhere else, these were effectively 924S Club Sports:
The Moss Green Metallic Euro-spec Mercedes-Benz 250CE 5-speed we wrote up about a month ago is back up for sale, still with a reserve auction. While not the most popular Mercedes-Benz model, this car offers a lot of value in classic Mercedes motoring and we think it looks fantastic:
The below post originally appeared on our site April 8, 2014:
The 1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SL that Carter featured last week highlighted a very rare option for the manufacturer at the time, the ZF 5-speed manual gearbox. But the roadster wouldn’t be the only model to employ this advanced transmission. The rather staid looking W114 Coupe would feature the 5-speed in the six cylinder models, complimenting what was, at the time, the newest chassis in the lineup. This 250CE for sale in Michigan was imported into the US in the 1990s and featured at one time in the Mercedes-Benz Club of America’s magazine, The Star.
