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Month: April 2020

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Easter Egg: 1988 Alpina B6 3.5S

While I’m certainly not a particularly religious person, it’s hard not to accept the joy of an Easter egg hunt witnessed through the eyes of a child. Even in these trying times, its some semblance of normality lacking in the rest of our existence. But limiting such an egg hunt to children only seems unfair. And our reader John supplied us with quite the egg find today!

This purple Porsche eater comes from the hallowed halls of Buchloe and the storied company of Alpina. Normally Alpina takes ‘ordinary’ BMWs and transforms them in extraordinary performance machines. But in one case, they took a very special BMW and made it very….specialerer. Such is the case with the B6 3.5S. The 3.5S took all of the important bits of that made the 3.5 very unique and stuck them into an M3 chassis. That meant upgraded brakes, heavy-duty front springs, and the signature Alpina wheels coupled with the 3.5-liter M30 with high compression pistons, a special head and cam, and Alpina exhaust resulting in 254 horsepower. While just 219 B6s were produced, only 62 B6Ss were made. And this one is Daytona Violet!

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 Alpina B6 3.5S on Classic Auto Restor

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2006 Porsche 911 Carrera S

In terms of value in the Porsche 911 world, where the “value” is a little bit of misnomer, I personally think the 997 is in a wonderful spot. You have a respectable amount of safety and performance, the unmistakable looks of a 911, all while not needing a six-figure income to buy or maintain. Yes, some of the more special 997s still bring huge prices, but for the more common 997s, its one of those or a new Honda Accord. The early Carrera and Carrera S cars are particularly appealing to me, especially when equipped with the 19″ lobster claw wheels. As luck would have it, this is what we have today in this 2006 Carrera S up for sale in California. The thing is, it isn’t equipped with the traditional six-speed manual transaxle, but rather the last of its kind five-speed automatic. Is this a deal breaker?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera S on eBay

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Diet M3: 1994 BMW 325iS M-Design

Just prior to the launch of the E36 M3 for North America, Canada got a special run of European-specification M3s. However, they weren’t alone in terms of custom E36s available. 1994 also saw the United States get a pretty unique, and quite limited, E36 model.

It was the 1994 325is M-Design. Fans call it the M-Tech, and it was very similar to the Clubsport Coupe that was available in Europe.

While underneath this was basically a stock 325, it was still pretty special. It included nearly all the items that the M3 would have outside of the motor and brakes. You got the M-Tech body kit, mirrors, steering wheel and shift knob, along with the Anthracite M cloth (0506). Many (if not all) were painted Germany’s racing color – Alpine White. Additionally, the M-Design included a cool set of 17″ BBS 2-piece wheels. They were referred to as Style 29s, but were actually a multi-piece version of the forged BBS RG wheel. A limited run of only 150 (according to fans, BMW isn’t sure) were produced by BMW Individual with a $4,700 premium on the base price of the 325iS. What does that translate to today?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1994 BMW 325iS M-Design on eBay

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2000 Mercedes-Benz CLK430

The transition from the W124 Mercedes-Benz E-Class coupe to CLK-Class coupe, which for all intents and purposes is an E-Class coupe as well, was a very clear evolution. It was an abrupt switch from the old-school Mercedes feel into a new modern age with softer styling and softer materials. Of course the wrench thrown into this is that while the W208 looked like a W210 E-Class both inside and out, it was actually built on the W202 C-Class chassis. You’d never really know this and Mercedes did a really nice job of covering that up, but none the less, the new-era of Mercedes was here. It was a very fresh design for the time and while impressive for its day, signaled a very clear end to philosophy of over-engineered and over-built coupes that Mercedes was known for since basically the beginning of the automobile. Times change and you need to adapt, and this is what Mercedes did. Just looking at the front end, you went from squared off and boxy look with headlights that were literal rectangles, to a set of ovals that were split apart into two different lights. A massive change in direction for sure, but it was new, and people bought them.

However, this also signaled the time where a Mercedes-Benz wasn’t really considered a car you kept for years on end, but rather a lease special and a race to get out the door with the lowest monthly payment. Twenty years later, this is still true across the entire model range with the exception of very few niche models. So where does that leave these now old cars? Nearly worthless, basically. There is no nostalgia for a 2000 CLK or 2001 S430. Any example that is more trouble than it is worth is scrapped without a second thought and only the nicest examples still remain. Today, I came across this CLK430 example in Philadelphia that still does maybe have some appeal to it. Outside of the terrible aftermarket grille, of course.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2000 Mercedes-Benz CLK430 on eBay

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1978 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL

As they years go by, it seems less and less likely that the W116 Mercedes-Benz S-Class will get its due. The newest examples are now 40 years-old, so if they aren’t in full blown classic status might now, they might not ever be. Don’t get me wrong, the best of the best examples still sell for very good money, but this is clearly not a case of rising tides lifts all ships. The holy-grail 6.9 cars struggle to sell if they aren’t in perfect condition both cosmetically and mechanically, because honestly they just are worth the trouble and money of fooling with at this stage. The non-6.9 V8 cars seem to struggle because they aren’t the 6.9 and why invest in one of those for when not much more money you buy a 6.9. I even say this as someone who owns and loves a W116, a 300SD no less, but I see the reality in owning these cars. So naturally when I see a seemingly nice W116 come up sale, I always want to take a peek to see what is out there. This 1978 450SEL up for sale outside of Chicago looks nice enough, but I have some questions.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1978 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL on eBay

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