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Month: November 2015

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Motorsports Monday: 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo v. 1989 BMW 325is

A fan favorite symbol of the 1980s with a perfectly balanced chassis, great aftermarket support, capable of massive upgrades in power, brakes and suspension, and avid race series still today; both the BMW E30 and Porsche 944 fit this mold. Since new, many have been hitting race circuits and autocrosses and now going on 30 years later they remain staples of their respective marque racing club events as well as amateur race series. Today I have a showdown between two modded examples; who will outbrake the other into turn one?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 BMW 325is on eBay

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1984 Porsche 911 Carrera Targa

The next couple of days I have two 911s that we might best classify as potentially market setting. While the market for non-turbocharged air-cooled 911s has gradually been increasing over the past year or so, some of the asking prices I am seeing recently signal a precipitous rise. Yet, I cannot recall actually seeing any recent huge sales to suggest that these prices are in line with the market. Perhaps these cars are well ahead of the market, or perhaps they are a harbinger of things to come, but I hope to keep my eye on them and get a sense of where we are. The first of the two is this very low mileage Platinum Metallic 1984 Porsche 911 Carrera Targa with Light Tan interior located in New York. As this is a reserve auction it should at least give us a shot to see where bidding will take this price and at its current bid of $56,999 (though this is a single bid) it is already commanding pretty strong value for an ’84 Carrera Targa. How much higher might it go?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Porsche 911 Carrera Targa on eBay

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1988 BMW M3 Europameister with 28,000 Miles

Seller boisterousness and bravado is always a thing which interests me, and its something which comes out in droves when we’re talking about rare cars. In the U.S. market, many people consider the M3 to be rare, though it’s very far from being the most rare M product from the 1980s and it’s not hard to find multiple good examples for sale any day of the week. But rare does describe the limited edition models of the E30 M3. In total, 7 different limited edition models were produced. The best known are the Evolution series, but there were others that did not get the performance boost of the Evo models. One such example was the Europameister model shown here. They were built to celebrate Roberto Ravaglia’s successful seasons in both the European Touring Car Championship. Painted only Macao Blue Metallic with Silver Nappa leather, they were effectively loaded luxury versions of the normal M3. With only 148 produced, they’re indeed quite rare to see – especially stateside:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 BMW M3 Europameister on Classic Driver

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2002 BMW M5

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Ah, the E39 M5: the humble king of supersedans. Plenty of followers have come out with more tech, more power, and more luxury, but none have found the perfect balance that made the E39 M5 astonishing when it came out and still eminently desirable today. Its 394hp shocked when released, but it was backed up a chassis and 6-speed transmission equally ready to brawl. It’s a holistic package that gets blown away on paper by today’s sedans bordering on or exceeding 600hp and yet still represents the platonic ideal for many enthusiasts.

This example in Texas has a lot going for it. 75k miles is right in the middle of the 50-100k wheelhouse for these cars, enough to protect it from cream-puff prices but not too many as to worry about big maintenance. Le Mans Blue over Caramel is a lovely combination, but my association of this BMW interior with a friend’s E36 M3 would make me long for that car’s Estoril exterior as well. It looks to be in just about perfect shape inside and out, but even then the price looks a bit high.

Click for details: 2002 BMW M5 on Fall Creek Motorcars

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1987 BMW M6

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As cool as I think the sharknose E24 M6 is, it never quite grabbed ahold of me the way the E28 M5 does (hence my purchase of the latter). Despite sharing the heavenly S38B35, something about the way most E24s sit comes across just a little too soft, more Lexus SC400 than Ferrari 550. Well, today’s beautiful red M6 changes all that with a lower stance and beautiful – if very 80s – gold BBS 3-piece wheels. Something about the red, chrome, and black bits seem to all come together perfectly on this car, pulling me in like no E24 before it.

Click for details: 1987 BMW M6 on eBay

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