To celebrate the opening of the newly revised Nürburgring in 1984, Mercedes-Benz organized a friendly, yet still fiercely competitive race between some of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time. That means names like Sir Stirling Moss, James Hunt, Alain Prost , Phil Hill, and upstart Ayrton Senna were among the drives in the field. What were they all driving? None other than the then-new 190E 2.3-16V. All of these cars were slightly modified for the race with bolt-in roll cages and some racing seats but other than that, they ran the cars as-is. The winner of the race was the 24 year-old Senna, which isn’t much of a surprise when looking back now, but the driver who finished 2nd? Nikki Lauda. This is his car he raced and yes, it is now for sale.
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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.Month: April 2018
Earlier in the week I posted a somewhat unusual 911SC Cabriolet. It was unusual because it was a first-year 911SC, when a 911 Cabriolet did not exist. That car obviously would not be for everyone regardless of how unique it might be. But let’s keep our attention on that first year of 911SC production and look at how such a Cabriolet would have begun its life.
This is a Light Blue Metallic 1978 Porsche 911SC Targa, located in New York, with Blue leather interior and 73,071 miles on it. The exterior color is one that brings with it a good deal of refinement and beauty; the interior is a pretty rare color for the time period. Together they make for a somewhat monotone combination, but one that is pretty unique in its own right.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1978 Porsche 911SC Targa on eBay
1 CommentJust the other day, an old car friend of mine contacted our group of enthusiasts with an interesting challenge. He currently owns a Nissan 370Z, and while he really likes the car he’s got a family and needs something a bit more practical. So he queried the group; what car should he get in the $40,000 range that was special, fast, had 4-doors and a manual transmission?
Several thoughts came to mind, and I’m sure that everyone’s head is already spinning like mine did. While immediately several went to BMW M products like the E39 M5, I had an alternate suggestion which also considered where my friend lives – New Hampshire. ‘What about the Audi S4?’ I suggested. He admitted had hadn’t thought of one, in part because he previously owned a S4 – in his case a B5 – and didn’t love the driving experience.
Well, since the S4 has come a long way since the 1990s in power, technology, size and driving experience. And what has emerged is a very impressive all-arounder which flies under the radar. The supercharged V6 in the B8 gave a healthy 333 horsepower an Russian steppe-flat torque curve with 325 lb.ft available from 3,000 rpms straight through 5,250. This power could be channeled through two increasing rare options to find in electronics-heavy cars – a manual gearbox and a sport differential. Okay, 333 horsepower doesn’t sound outlandish in today’s world. But as with fast Audis of the past, the B8 and 8.5 made efficient use of that power and putting it down on the ground, making them capable of 4.4 second 0-60 sprints and a 13 second quarter-mile. This is a car which punches above its weight class, capable of embarrassing unsuspecting muscle cars.
Yet it retains its luxury-oriented character and go-anywhere all-wheel drive options, along with the practicality of offering 4-doors. And like ‘Q-Ships’ from the past, outside of a few extra exhaust ports and slightly flashier badging, most people would be hard-pressed to differentiate this serious performance package from the normal A4 wrapper. But that doesn’t mean that this car has to be boring, and you could select a few beautiful exterior colors such as this Volcano Red Metallic example:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2015 Audi S4 on Audizine
8 CommentsThis Black on Black 1991 Porsche 911 Turbo has been for sale for a few months and I suppose the question is whether it still should be? With the air-cooled market not really blowing anyone’s doors off these days it perhaps is not surprising that no one has taken the plunge with this one. You can find an early 964 Turbo in the low $100Ks. Were this one priced there it obviously no longer would be for sale. Were it priced higher – like the $150K Grand Prix White example I featured not long ago – then I’d suspect it to have little chance of selling. As it stands now, this asking price splits the difference, which given the fairly low mileage is understandable and not at all unreasonable. Is this a sign that the market for these Turbos might be struggling even more? Or is simply a little more patience required?
I don’t know the answer to that right now, but this is a nice example and while not the most exciting color combination it is definitely one that should have broad appeal.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 Porsche 911 Turbo on eBay
2 CommentsThis 911 is a little bit of an oddity. Those familiar with the 911SC will recognize immediately that this 911 is not original. While Porsche long had been in the business of producing open-top cars, it took nearly 20 years for a true Cabriolet to make its debut for the 911. The 911 Targa had been around since nearly the 911’s inception, but not a Cabriolet. Perhaps Porsche was not confident in the survival of any open-roofed car given increasing safety standards; the short-lived Soft-window Targa was an engineering solution to that problem that quickly was abandoned. Still it wasn’t until 1983 that the first 911 Cabriolet was produced. That means that the car we see here, a 1978 Porsche 911SC Cabriolet, never really existed.
This 911 began as a 911SC Targa and at some point – we are not told when – its owner decided to convert it to a Cabriolet. Why? I don’t know. Perhaps it was done very early before the true SC Cabriolet was released because that’s really what the owner wanted. Or perhaps later for…reasons. Either way this 911 provides the very rare chance to own a first-year 911SC in full open-roof form. Is that something you should aspire to over a standard ’83 911SC Cabriolet? I’m not sure there’s a great reason to do so other than having a 911 that’s very unique. And I’ll admit it does look well executed.