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Coming up on 3 years into our relationship, I’m still loving my E28, largely due to how it reminds me of a time when cool cars didn’t have to be all things to all people. Today’s 524td may be at the opposite end of the powerplant spectrum from mine, it doubles the gas mileage and keeps the great 80s looks. It is truly shocking that this car has 203k miles on it – inside and out it looks like a showroom model from the year before I was born. At first I thought “that must be a redone interior,” but the presentation of the exterior and engine bay corroborate the seller’s indication that this is just an amazingly-kept, all-original survivor. It may be slow, but the E28 is a great car to practice carrying speed with. What a commuter this would be!
The standard bearer of sport sedans for many years has been the BMW M5. These are cars that literally reshaped the idea of what a sedan could do. Beyond these supercars in disguise, it’s easy to overlook other fast 5 series that BMW has cranked out over the years, like this 540i 6-speed manual for sale in San Francisco. With just a tick under 60,000 miles, this one is very well preserved executive express. For those who think the cooking variety 540i might be a little sedate and the M5 a bit too brash, the 540i with the 6-speed manual gearbox strikes a nice balance.
I can’t even imagine the heads that would turn back in 1955 when this car rolled down the street. Now, I wasn’t alive in 1955 so perhaps I’m mistaken, but a bright orange convertible must have been a very rare sight. I know I haven’t seen many, if any, come across auctions of any marque, let alone a Porsche 356. Porsche has never shied away from producing cars in bright colors so that fact shouldn’t surprise me, yet here I am pretty surprised by this car. And before we wonder, this is the original color: a paint-to-sample Orange that Porsche specially had formulated to suit the original buyer’s desire. What better car to showcase on Halloween! This 1955 Porsche 356 Pre-A 1500 Continental Cabriolet is one of the most highly sought after models in the Porsche portfolio. While the 356 Cabriolet was produced for many years, those branded as the Continental Cabriolet were only produced for the 1955MY in the American market before Ford claimed naming rights to the Continental. While that may be a somewhat esoteric distinction, it is nonetheless a marker that separates these cars from other Cabriolets produced during this period. As a vintage piece of Porsche history this has it all!
It’s funny that as enthusiasts we desire what we can’t have; there are a plethora of Audis that aren’t import friendly currently that I long after and plenty of rare BMWs and Mercedes-Benz models that make the collective jaws of the automotive community hang low. Yesterday’s European-spec 1994 M5 3.8 is a great example. It’s a very rare car that in pristine shape draws some serious dollars out of the woodwork and enthusiasts pine over. But in terms of all-out speed and value for your money, the Audi S4 packs much more punch than than the boys from Munich or Unterturkheim. Available generally for a quarter to at most half the price of most of the E34 M5/500Es on offer that are in reasonable shape, they can easily be customized and upgraded – and the results can be fantastic:
While BMW was pulling out of the doldrums in the 1960s, few could have predicted that the 2002 would have been their sales savior well into the next decade. And so it went with the 2002’s replacement, the 3 series. This would be the bread and butter vehicle for BMW for years to come. By the time the 2002 was ready to retire, it had become saddled with the accoutrements of ever changing safety and emissions features for the US market, but it still offered the same honest charm that drew many aspiring folks to this brand in the first place. This example for sale in Oregon, while without documentation, has had a host of work done to it and looks to be representative of one of those storied West Coast survivors that East Coasters like me dream about.
