You can’t really buy American firetrucks and drive them personally. Forest service greenies or the chief’s Blazer, maybe, but our real fire trucks are fricking huge. Euro firetrucks operate in much more confined spaces (and budgets), meaning they end up with sweet conversions like this 1980 Volkswagen LT45. Something like the T3’s big brother, we’ve seen a Syncro LT45 before that looked like it was ready to roam the desert because it knows that winter is coming. This is no Syncro DoKa, but it is a dually 5-speed diesel van that could serve many uses. It currently has the hose reels, but unless you want those the seller says he’s pulling them out. The seller seems confident that $16k is his price – do low miles and rarity counteract the generally rough appearance?
Month: February 2016
In my search for an E46 M3, there was a nagging voice in the back of my head. As I looked at high prices of nicer examples of the M3, the voice kept saying “what about the E82?” So, what about the E82? In 135i guise, you got some of the styling from the M3 in a smaller chassis even though, generally speaking, it makes the E46 look pretty huge. In overall length, the E82 shorter than even the E30 as amazing as that sounds. But the standard roof height meant that visually the 1 series looked slightly out of proportion. Dynamically, though, that S54 must be a massive trump card, right? Well, again, not so fast, as the N54 twin-turbocharged inline-6 lay under the hood. Sure, it was at a slight horsepower disadvantage, but it makes up for that 33 horsepower deficit with 38 lb.ft more torque – and unlike the S54, that torque is available from under 2,000 RPMs. The result is that at least on paper, the 135i can run step in step with the E46 M3 acceleration to 60, 1/4 mile and 100 are all within a few tenths of each other – certainly enough that the driver could make a difference. And properly equipped, the E82 is a pretty neat looking car, like this 2009 M-Sport package:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2009 BMW 135i M-Sport on eBay
5 Comments
Porsche’s pastel blues are some of my favorite of any manufacturer. They are almost beyond vibrant and provide a sense of life to any 911 that takes the dynamic capabilities of the machine and expands through color. Cars stimulate all of the senses other than taste and a heightening our visual sense of any car is bound to either repel some or completely intoxicate others. Most any pastel color will do that – I really don’t think there’s a middle-ground with these colors – and my favorites are blue and orange, both of which Porsche does well. We see them very rarely and this is one of the few non-GT 997s I’ve come across in such a color. The seller has stated that this is Pure Speedster Blue, which is not a color I’ve heard of but since it’s stated to be paint-to-sample that isn’t uncommon. Regardless, it’s along the lines of Mexico Blue and Riviera Blue, two shades that were offered in very limited runs in the ’70s and ’90s respectively. I love them and on this 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S you get modern refinement and mechanicals, but with a vintage color.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S on eBay
4 Comments
It was really neat to see the interestingly optioned pre-production Audi 90S V6 last week, but more from a curiosity standpoint. As many noted, what’s the market on a front drive pre-production Audi 90 with 200 miles? It would take a very special and specific fan to be interested in that chassis. The same can’t be said of today’s example. When it came to tuning up the Type 89 quattros, Audi offered a few options; the DOHC 7A motor with 164 horsepower came to the U.S., but European markets also got the stellar S2 in 20V Turbo form. Though both were most common in Coupe quattro form, sedans and even for European customers Avants later were available with the legendary turbocharged mill. However, let’s not forget that technically the 20V Turbo wasn’t the top of the heap in 1989, since Audi had just launched the revolutionary quad-cam all-aluminum 3.6 V8. That motor was the signature mill of the eponymous V8 quattro. Out of the box, the V8 was the most powerful Audi on offer, but the engine package would only be available initially in the D11 chassis, but in 4.2 form it would later be offered in the C4 S4/S6 as well. The first small chassis Audi with a V8 wouldn’t be until the B6 S4, right? Well, wrong, because a few generations prior Audi apparently toyed with the idea in some development 80s:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1990 Audi 80 Quattro V8 on autoscout24.com
14 Comments
Many people love the E36 “M3/4/5,” the 5-speed manual, 4-door sedan sleeper. It was the first M-car I fell in love with (and drove… funny how that works). This M3/2/5A is the opposite, the only less desirable version being the convertible. An automatic sedan is unfortunate but perhaps defensible as a family car. This coupe, looking hot in Hellrot and on the perfect Style 22s, deserves to be the Ultimate Driving Machine. Without the lovely 5-speed manual to play the S50 as you please, it’s just not. Dang pretty though.