I am consistently amazed by the value many examples of the 993 can command. I fully understand the reasons these beautiful 911s command such values, but that doesn’t stifle my amazement. That these cars would attract the attention of collectors was virtually guaranteed once Porsche decided to switch to a water-cooled engine in the 996 and given such an attraction the lower-production models have always garnered quite a bit of interest, especially low-mileage examples such as this one. Here we have a Guards Red 1996 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, located in North Carolina, with a scant 18,900 miles on it. The C4S is, effectively, the Turbo-look version of the 993, though in this case it doesn’t complete that look as the C4S lacked the Turbo’s rear wing. But with braking sourced from the Turbo, along with those wider rear fenders, these come pretty close to replicating the look, though not the performance, of the last of the air-cooled Turbos.
Month: March 2015
I’ll continue with the Cabriolet theme, though unlike yesterday’s car which I specifically featured because it was a Cabriolet this one appeals to me for additional reasons and that it happens to be a Cabriolet simply is coincidence. This Cabriolet equipped with the M491 package offers many of the stylistic and handling upgrades of the 911 Turbo, but retains the less highly strung and more maintenance friendly naturally-aspirated 3.2-liter flat-six of the standard Carrera. While accurate production numbers for the M491-equipped cars have been notoriously difficult to pin down for their six years of production (1984-1989) these cars are certainly more rare than a standard Carrera. It does appear that the option was prevalent on Coupes early on and then shifted heavily toward the Cabriolet once the actual Turbo was again made available in the US. Still, as a performance variant the M491-equipped 911s have become highly sought after, especially for the later years that also came with the G50 5-speed transmission.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet – M491 on eBay
2 CommentsIt’s hot down here in Los Angeles right now, like middle of summer hot and that means a whole lot of cars hitting the road with the top down. There are a number of cars that I associate with LA whose roof’s have been liberated, the Lamborghini Gallardo, Maserati Gran Turismo, Hertz Mustang/Camaro just to name a few. However none of them embody the vibe of the City Of Angels like the Mercedes Benz SL500 convertible does. From a group of gal pals cruising down Sunset Blvd to the media mogul retiree racing to the golf course, this car oozes Los Angeles cool.
The R129 chassis lived a good long life, the object of desire for dentists, producers, athletes and children like myself from 1989 until 2002. Just think about that for a second, this car remained popular and relatively visually unchanged from Bush I to Bush II, that’s damn impressive. Here we have a very clean example with just over 86k on the clock that’s currently located in a place much like Los Angeles, just with humidity and crazier people, you know, Florida.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 Mercedes Benz Sl500
3 Comments
The new Golf R is a force to be reckoned with, making the first appreciable increase in power since these MkIV R32s brought 4WD performance and the R moniker to the VW Golf lineup. While the new 2.0 liter turbo four may produce a lot more power, the open-flapped exhaust on these 3.2 liter VR6s will still turn more heads. Having covered just over 40k miles means this is one of the best examples on the market, so the seller is going big and asking for $20k. Yes, that’s well on its way to a new GTI or slightly used Golf R, but I’ll always have a soft spot for the original R32.
Click for details: 2004 Volkswagen R32 on eBay
1 CommentThe 911SC used to be the go-to 911 for those seeing a low cost of entry and a modicum of reliability with the 911 game. However, the market for early and late air-cooled 911s is pushing the values up for the Super Carrera and in comparison to other models, they are a relative bargain and a good starting point for the beginner 911 owner. One of the more recent 911s I’ve driven was a 911SC Targa, like the Euro market example we see here for sale in Pennsylvania. It was during the production run of the SC that the 911s fate would be decided. Peter Schutz, CEO at the time, would see to it that this iconic sports car would live on.