Our love of the T3 Vanagon Syncro has taken up significant blog space here, but sightings of T4s – called Eurovans, Transporters, or Caravelles – with Syncro are exceedingly rare. The only one I’d seen before this was an Executive Package Caravelle boasting private jet-like seating and lots of leather. Today’s T4 Transporter occupies the other end of the spectrum, with a stripped rear interior and metal separation wall behind the two front seats. Judging by the seller’s offer to install a refrigeration unit in the back for $7k, I’m going to guess that at some point it was used for cold transport. The lack of amenities are made up for by options never available in the US: panel sides, 4WD, and diesel power. I don’t need any “REEFER” capabilities (as the seller refers to it) installed, but I see a lot of potential for a go-anywhere camper with great privacy!
Month: January 2016
I’m sure that occasionally (or more likely, often) when discussing current color pallets offered by manufacturers I sound like a broken record. The new model is, generally speaking, that 95% of those that purchase the top-tier models for any given manufacturer will select one of three colors: black, gray or white. It reminds me of a book my wife bought for our son for Christmas; This Bridge Will Not Be Gray by Dave Eggers. It chronicles in a tongue-in-cheek manner the development of the Golden Gate bridge – reportedly, according to the text, the first orange bridge in the human history. “No bridge had ever been orange. Orange was silly. So most of those involved figured the bridge would be gray. Gray was serious. Gray was safe” the book states about the bridge, and I feel like a fair amount of people buying these near-exotic cars feel the same way. But in the book, Eggers talks about how one of the bridge’s designers – Edward Morrow – decided gray would be the wrong color; that if he was going to have to look at this bridge every day, it should look like something special. The original buyer of this Audi RS7 got it:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2014 Audi RS7 on eBay
3 Comments
I’ve been part of a broader discussion about values on 1980s Audis over the past few years. In one corner, I’ve suggested that values have been steadily increasing and that very good examples of 1980s Audis – the 4000 quattro, the 5000CS quattro and the Coupe GT – are higher now than they have been since the early 1990s. But have they really been increasing? Hagerty, among others evidence we’ve collected, would seem to say yes. The problem is that few examples of 1980s Audis in really exceptional condition come up for sale. But today is part one in a mini-litmus test of the market on one of my favorite models – the Audi Coupe GT. I’ve suggested that really excellent examples of these cars are currently $6,000 – $8,000. The basis for my argument is twofold; one, it’s so uncommon to come across a really top-condition, low mileage Coupe GT these days, and two – that between no longer available parts and the cost of a proper restoration, you’re better off paying top-dollar for a no-needs example rather than trying to bring a lesser example up to show-ready quality. So, let’s take a look at part one – a reportedly “excellent” Coupe GT:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1986 Audi Coupe GT on eBay
4 Comments
After perusing quite a few high-dollar or modified 911s it’s always nice to return to something original and basic to remind myself why I began to enjoy these cars in the first place. While I’ve increasingly taken a liking to the 964 over the past few years my heart still remains with the classic design of the 911SC and 3.2 Carrera. Those were the 911s of my youth and as such they are the ones that still pull me most strongly. For many the 3.2 Carrera remains the preferred choice of the two since it offers a few more evolutionary steps without diverging too far from the standard formula. The market, of course, has noticed this and prices for the 3.2 Carrera have begun to separate themselves from their predecessor, especially in the case of the later G50-equipped models produced from 1987-1989. But you don’t need the G50 transmission in order to enjoy a 911, and some even prefer the older 915 anyway. It is, after all, a bit lighter and those pounds matter. So here we have one of those earlier Carreras: a Prussian Blue Metallic 1986 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, located in Miami, with matching blue leather interior and 69,800 miles on it.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1986 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe on eBay
2 Comments
I’m always interested in clean examples of the 325ix. Rare to begin with, their all-road capability means they’ve often experienced crueler conditions than a standard E30. This example has covered an amazing 248k miles but is a hard-to-find manual coupe. The engine was replaced about 1k miles ago with another M20B25 that has 120k total miles but recently had a top end rebuild. The interior looks good all things considered, with cracked but not ripped seats and an intact dash. The exterior was recently repainted after the common rust areas were professionally repaired, letting the Delphin Gray give off its great subtle luster. With axles and other maintenance items done within the last 50k miles, this seems like the right kind of high-mileage car to pursue, especially given the rare specification.