There aren’t enough words to describe a Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG — both good and bad. You can probably guess the bad words, but I’m pretty high on these cars, especially the W221 chassis. I think the most impressive part is that you could have 604 horsepower and 738 ft-lb of torque in a normal four door sedan that can give you slow and gentle massage, all while being totally silent. Normally, to get that kind of power you would need to buy something Italian that is reliable and usable as a wild pack of possums. (Or maybe just buy a 911 Turbo.) Yes, you paid dearly for an S65 when new, over $200,000, but you got what you paid for. A vehicle with hyper car power that a grandmother could drive. Now that we are over a decade in to W221 S65 and they’ve reached Honda Accord levels of purchase price, is it worth rolling the dice on one? Maybe if you are a little crazy. Although this 2007 in Utah might just be the one to get.
Month: November 2018
This Audi Coupe GT 20V sold for $11,900.
Yesterday’s Jade Green ’74 911 Coupe was for me a ‘Greatest Hits’ example. It was a great color on a great classic, with great wheels, great flares, a great interior and great graphics. While I’m certain it wasn’t for everyone, the 911 market of today means that whatever genre your particular greatest hits are composed of you’ll probably find what you’re looking for.
The same cannot be said for Audi, especially when it comes to 1980s examples. Yet here, today, we have what I would consider to be a pretty good attempt to make the greatest Coupe GT. First off, there are some who like the early Coupe or Coupe GT models, but as I’ve had a string of them my heart beats to the later ’85-up chassis. Couple the better looks with improved European headlights and you’re starting off well. Make it one of the better colors for the GT – Alpine White L90E – and things are still great. Inside, the best interior to match that outside was the limited edition Commemorative Design “Mouton” red leather. You’ll want the Nardi leather wheel to hold on to. Kick the wheels up a few notches to really make the GT look more purposeful, and while you’re there, lower the ride height too.
But it’s the go that really separates this GT. The stock KX is hard to develop, between the lack of parts, the CIS fuel injection, and the lack of parts. Did I mention the lack of parts? You can go the cam route and do a bunch of other goodies and once it’s all done, you’ll come out the other side with maybe as much power as the later 2.3 NG. Maybe. But since the GT is a one-wheel drive wonder, you won’t want to overdo the power department. The solution is the short-lived 7A 2.3 20V DOHC motor found in the 1990-1991 90 quattro 20V and Coupe Quattro. Match the 164 horsepower, 7,200 RPM screamer to the 600 lb lighter chassis of the GT and suddenly you’ve got quite a stunner. And why not throw in some period graphics, too?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1986 Audi Coupe GT 20V on Bring a Trailer
1 CommentSold and headed to Germany. Amount undisclosed. Good luck, Charles!
Here we have a Jade Green 1974 Porsche 911 Coupe. Anyone familiar with these 911s will recognize immediately that this one is not original. In fact, it’s quite far from it. Jade Green is purported to be its original color though, which is nice!
So what do we have? First, it’s undergone a Turbo-look conversion (I feel like this is becoming a theme of the cars I feature). The conversion, performed in 1987, utilized steel 930 rear flares and rockers, along with the usual addition of the 930 front and rear spoilers. The engine is now a 3.0 liter flat-6 from an early 911SC mated to a 915 5-speed transmission. Current mileage on the engine is believed to be around 20K miles post rebuild. The interior is a bit more standard for this car though the seats now come from a ’87 3.2 Carrera and have houndstooth inserts. They look pretty great. Otherwise, it sounds like other than the radio and speakers the interior is pretty much original.
Obviously it is the appearance here that is going to attract notice and I think from the outside the combination of that very bright Jade Green exterior with the wide body of the 930 really makes for a head turner.