Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.
This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.
The craze over the E30 is quickly pulling up many 1980s BMW prices, and unfortunately as budget-minded enthusiasts there is a narrowing window to get into one of these cars in good condition. E24, E28 and E30 prices have all crept up rapidly, leaving few options for enthusiasts to turn to. One, ironically, comes from Munich itself, but is often overlooked when judging classic BMWs. Perhaps its that there wasn’t the long-promised “M8”, or that the E31 really saw the advent of BMW’s electronic nannies to help keep the car in check. Perhaps it was the progressive for the 80s, dated for the 90s styling that seemed out of place in the lineup. Or perhaps it was that this incredible V12 grand touring coupe just wasn’t what everyone wanted in a BMW. Regardless of the cause, it’s now possible to get one of these stately tourers for a fraction of the price of a top notch E30. And while silver, black, white and red seemed to dominate the E31 color palate, for me the prettiest examples are blue:
In its earliest years Porsche offered a variety of trim levels to suit a wider array of buyers. The 911T, E, and S each fit within their own performance window and provided buyers more opportunities to get into the 911 that most appropriately fit their performance needs and budget. For the 1967 model year Porsche introduced the 911S. With 160 hp, along with revised chassis and braking, the 911S offered captivating performance for its time and began to establish the 911 as an iconic sports car. The example featured here has recently undergone a full restoration: a Sand Beige 1967 Porsche 911S Coupe, located in California.
With the fear of dwindling energy supplies and the race to make our vehicles cleaner, there are some things that are seemingly disappearing from the automotive landscape. There are still a few holdouts in the market, but the manual transmission has been disappearing even in exotic sports cars such as Lamborghini and Porsche as faster, more economical automated manuals and automatic gearboxes have emerged. Engines with more than eight cylinders seem to be a dying breed and small vehicles seem to be rather popular, even in a country like the US where bigger is often better. What then, to make of this Mercedes-Benz CL600 in an era of rightsizing? Even though it isn’t terribly vintage, this large coupe powered by six liters and twelve cylinders seems an anachronism in today’s motoring world.
Okay, I got the memo. You didn’t like earlier’s Tuner S4. And while I think it’s pretty silly to discount the car completely because of some fairly easily changeable interior pieces, I also had issue with the car as honestly I’d prefer an Avant if I was going the S4 route. What’s a guy to do? Well, lucky for us there’s an equally awesome, equally Imola Avant in our Self Service Classifieds:
If yesterday’s S54 swapped 328Ci just wasn’t enough M3 to satisfy your need, today might just help you satiate that need. The E46 M3 is a great car in just about every way – it lacks some of the space and usability of its S4 competitors but it certainly makes up for it in great looks and performance. A friend of mine several years ago sold his older E28 535is that he tracked and 84 911 cabriolet and bought an E46 M3 convertible with hardtop. Initially, I was a bit surprised, but his logic was sound – the E46 was a better convertible capable of carrying (in a pinch, anyway) 4 people, and it was quicker in every situation than his track-biased E28. Plus, complimenting the good looks of the E46 was the color my friend opted for – Laguna Seca Blue, certainly one of the most striking colors on an M car in recent memory. Today’s coupe doesn’t enjoy the same open-air fun of my friend’s car, but what it does have is very few miles:
