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Month: December 2020

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2018 Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG

2018 Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG

Published December 23, 2020 by Andrew

As we near end days for gasoline-powered vehicles, I think we are going to look back at the first 20 years of the new millennium and say to ourselves, “They put what in what?!” Even in the days of $4.00 a gallon for fuel, V12-powered vehicles were in no short supply. All the German marques, with the exception of Porsche, had 12 cylinder vehicles in their line-up and most of them were equipped with a pair of turbochargers. The big sedans and coupes? Sure that makes sense. A lumbering hulk of a SUV that has been in its same body since 1991? Come again?

Somehow, someway, AMG figured out a way to squeeze the M275 twin-turbo V12 into the G65 and boy did it not disappoint. Despite weighing over 6,300 pounds, a G65 AMG would get to 60mph in 5 seconds. That is scary. Even scarier? The price tag. These started at $215,000. Just to compare, the little brother G63 AMG was $150,000. Was the extra four cylinders worth another $75,000? I mean, if you play in the league of six-figure SUVs, why not?

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2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK320

2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK320

Published December 22, 2020 by Andrew

Dumping a bunch of money into a car and having it be worth than what you spent is rarely a math problem that makes sense. Usually if the math does make sense, you have to spend tens of thousands of dollars, sometimes hundreds of thousands. With today’s car, that is not the case.

This is a 2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK320. A seemingly forgettable car in terms of Mercedes coupes as it followed up the legendary W124 coupe and a long line of stately coupes prior to that. It was based on the W202 C-Class but had every intention of making you think it was an E-Class coupe. It was not. The build quality with a step backwards from the W124 with cheap materials and soft looks, but that didn’t matter to prospective buyers as it had a “fresh” look heading into 2000 and the lease deals were good. Then the car got old and everyone moved on. Today, they are pretty worthless in the Mercedes world outside of the very best CLK55 AMGs and it will probably stay that way. The seller of this CLK320 had a different feeling about that. Let me explain.

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1997 Volkswagen GTI VR6

1997 Volkswagen GTI VR6

Published December 21, 2020 by Carter

After its unceremonious and unexplained exit from the U.S. market with the introduction of the third generation Golf in 1993, the GTI came roaring back in a big way for the 1995 model year. Sure, it was bigger, bulkier and well…roundier, but it came with a bunch more gusto thanks to the addition of the VR6 motor as seen in the Corrado and Passat models. While the single-overhead cam, twelve-valve head lacked the race-bred feel of the Mk.II 16V, the new motor more than made up for it with the addition of two more cylinders. Good for 172 horsepower and 173 lb.ft of torque, it swept the hot hatch from 0-60 in 7.1 seconds and produced a 15.5 second quarter mile at over 90 mph. But much like the original, the GTI was more than the sum of its numbers, with drivers enjoying the great 6-cylinder soundtrack which accompanied the waves of usable torque.

Of course, like all VWs from the period, it was expensive. Really quite expensive. A base GTI VR6 rolled out the door in 1995 at $18,875, and with a few options it wasn’t difficult to breech $20 grand. Correct for inflation and that’s around $34,000, or around the same money as a lightly used Golf R will set you back today. Yet that was still only a little more than half the money that it would take you to grab a same-year M3, which offered only a bit more motivation and cornering prowess. Catch the pesky BMW driver off-guard, and they’d be unlikely to easily out-drag you. So you could either look at this model as a really expensive Golf or a really cheap BMW. That was what the legendary GTI had always been about, and this was a resounding return to form and continuation of the brilliance that was the GTI 16V, even if they felt (and, looked) completely different:

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Wish List: 1993 Isdera Commendatore 112i

Wish List: 1993 Isdera Commendatore 112i

Published December 20, 2020 by Carter

Around this time each year it’s nice to draw up a ‘wish list’ of things that, were I obscenely rich, I’d love to get myself as a holiday present. And if you’re Jeff Bezos, bored, reading this blog, and feeling spendy for some reason, this one is top of my list. What you see here is a car that not many are very familiar with. It comes from the firm Isdera, which doesn’t sound particularly German at all. But Isdera is an acronym for Ingenieurbüro fur Styling, DEsign und RAcing, which does seem particularly German. In fact, I’m surprised it’s not just one word. Anyway, Isdera was the brain child of Eberhard Schulz, who started off by building himself a sports car called the Erator GTE that looked very similar to the GT40, but had gullwing doors. Shulz worked for Porsche and Mercedes for a bit as a result of this impressive prototype, and later moved to the tuning firm B&B which ultimately led to the CW311 show car in 1978. Based upon Mercedes-Benz mechanical components and stylistically the successor to the Mercedes-Benz C111 rotary prototypes, Isdera then launched his own topless form of the CW311 called the Spyder 036i, 17 of which were made, and finally a ‘production’ version of the B&B CW311 called the Imperator 108i.

Not stasfied with 20-odd 108is produced through 1991, Shulz then dropped a 6-liter V12 in the middle of the chassis and hooked it to a Ruf-modified gearbox, Porsche suspension, a windshield wiper yanked from a Japanese Skinkansen bullet train, and a name befitting the founder of a certain Italian supercar maker. The result was stunning in 1993, and I’d argue it’s still pretty stunning today. And if you can pony up a whole lotta cash, the one existing example can be yours early next year.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1993 Isdera Commendatore 112i at RM Southeby’s Paris Auction 2021

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1964 Auto Union Pickup

1964 Auto Union Pickup

Published December 20, 2020 by Carter

The DKW F89 sprouted a few offspring; in Europe, it was offered as the F89L delivery van that was affectionately nicknamed the ‘Schnellaster’ and was available in Kastenwagen (delivery van) or bus form. Argentina also offered a version of the F89, and modified its offerings to include a small pickup. These were sold under the Auto Union nameplate in the early 1960s, and what you see here is one that has survived in its home country until today. And, it can now be yours…for a price!

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