Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.
This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.
Continuing on the theme of adding diverse tones to your life, BMW’s M3 has been traditionally one of the most colorful pallets in the Bavarian lineup. We saw the late shade of Fern Green on the late-model Convertible the other day. But fans of the E36 lust much more after the favorite “M3/4/5” model – the limited 1997-1998 3.2 sedan in manual form. It offered practicality and reportedly slightly lighter weight than the Coupe. And just like the Coupe and Convertible, it was available in all sorts of eye-catching shades. Today I have two of the most conspicuous: Techno Violet Metallic and the very limited Byzanz Metallic. Which is your favorite?
We’ve shown a couple of interesting green coupes so far this week and I’d like to add another to the mix. Strictly on color this Emerald Green Metallic 1976 Porsche 930 Turbo Carrera looks similar to the Mercedes-AMG GT R Andrew posted yesterday. The similarities mostly stop there, though there is a certain spiritual kinship between the 930 and most any AMG machine. The performance of either can be brutal – in the most positive sense of the term! – with dynamics that require your full attention any time you want to accelerate or brake hard. The technology helping direct the power of course differs markedly as do the levels of refinement. But if you want something you’ve got to grab by the scruff of the neck and then hold on for dear life I’d imagine either one of these could provide those thrills. So if this sort of green is your color, then here’s another option. And it’ll probably even be cheaper! It’s not often I get to say that about any 930, let alone a ’76.
After looking at the wild GT R with an asking price over $260,000, I thought I’d get back to something a little more affordable. This 1995 SL320 painted in Teal Blue Metallic checks in with a hair under 43,000 miles and is a prime candidate to drive everyday or stash away in the garage for those nicer days. The tried and tested M104 inline-6 engine is a great engine to live with and won’t cost you a mortgage payment if something goes wrong unlike the V8 and V12. But like anything, there is a catch, and this catch makes me bang my head against a brick wall.
Continuing on today’s green theme and moving up the pecking order a few notches from the E12 duo from the other day, here we have something of a monster. Alpina offered E24 fans a special treat with a turned up turbocharged variant of the 635CSi that was good enough not only to rival BMW’s own M6/M635CSi, but indeed to better it.
The M88 was already a bit of legend before BMW offered derivatives in the /3 and catalyst-equipped S38. With 256-286 horsepower depending on tune, it was about as good as non-exotic normally aspirated motors got in the 1980s. But Alpina had always had a knack for outdoing the cars their creations were based upon, so in went the turbocharger. The result was impressive in any form; the Turbo Coupe/1 was good for 300 horsepower and could match the acceleration of the M cars. But matching wasn’t enough, so Alpina upped the power with the B7S. Now up to 3.4 liters and good for 320 plus horsepower and nearly 400 lb.ft of torque, it was a car which could rip your face off anytime, anywhere. Like all Alpinas, they were lovingly crafted and full of exquisite detail work and limited to only 30 examples:
I’ve featured a few of RAUH-Welt Begriff’s Porsche creations, but this one might be my favorite. It’s an interesting mix of old and new, borrowing its colors and interior aesthetic from vintage Porsche hues and fabrics, then wrapping that in a body that is anything but vintage 911. In addition, unlike many of RWB’s builds this one has the performance to complement the wildly aggressive design.
For this build they used a 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Coupe. The design remains unmistakably that of Akira Nakai with its swooping hand-formed curves, very wide fenders, and huge wing. Under the hood this is a very different beast with the standard 3.6 liter flat-six now built to 3.8 liter RSR specs. I’m always curious if such statements mean precisely what they say because I believe that would mean around 350 hp from this engine. At the very least we can assume there’s going to be a decent bit of extra power going to the rear wheels.
