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It’s Christmas, so I had to put one on my list up here. We’re already past the point of the first Euro S8s being legal to import; production began in 1996, amazingly, and though they’re rare to find they’re out there. Today’s car comes from a few years later, but still is a pre-facelift model. That means slightly less splashy looks and slightly less power; but as I said in a recent post I really like the extra understated nature of the early D2s. Couple that with some fantastic 18″ Speedline Avus wheels, which were chunkier than the Ronal version the US market saw, plus a wild interior and this one is a looker. But it’s more than that, as it is one of the rare European-only manual versions. Let’s take a look!
Please take your seat and buckle your seatbelts, because you will need them for this one.
This is a 1998 Porsche 911 Turbo S that was reportedly commissioned by His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah, the 6th Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait. It is by far one of the craziest color combinations I’ve ever laid my eyes on. As you can see from the outside, it’s an unusual shade of Vanilla Yellow, but it isn’t until we open the doors until we see one of the most bizarre and perhaps offensive color schemes in existence. Please brace yourself for this one.
One of the more surprising special edition Porsche dropped on us the was the 2008 Cayman S Design Edition 1 … edition. Porsche pitched it as homage to Porsche Design and the 35th anniversary of the Chronograph 1 watch designed by Ferdinand Porsche. Changes includes a triple racing stripe down the middle of the car and on both sides of the doors, Porsche’s Active Suspension Management, 19″ wheels sourced from the 997 Turbo, some special gauge cluster font, and Alcantara on the roof, handbrake lever, and steering wheel. There was no bump in power, but you do get a serialized plaque on the glove box door. Now as we sit some 14 years later, they are merely a blip on the radar in vast sea of watercooled Porsche products. But that won’t stop used dealers from hyping them up and try to charge a super premium on them. Such is life!
In a modern manufacturing world where everything is calculated down to the penny and scaling is everything, it is a wonder we as consumers of cars actually were presented with some really low-volume examples. I’m not talking a few thousand or a few hundred, I’m talking just 50. Yes, somehow someone at Porsche convinced the production planners to make 50 identical cars, all in the same special color and specs, and just for the US market as well. You can go back and read about the 997 Club Coupe the last time I looked at one, but today I wanted to check out this example with just 6,200 miles on the odometer. I was really excited for this one, then I saw something that didn’t make sense to me. Let me explain.
Andrew talked about the R129 quite recently with his SL600, but I’ve also had my eye on these.
2000 Mercedes-Benz SL600
My particulate favorites are the pre-facelift early R129s. Whether they’re 300SLs or 500SLs, I really like the two-tone chunky bodywork and the simplicity of the early design. Perhaps it’s because I remember walking around one in a showroom when it was new, but the early R129s have always held a special fascination for me. As a bonus, early cars tend to be more affordable if you can find a decent one. In fact, they’re some of the most affordable “classic” Mercedes-Benz products out there. So let’s take a look at this lovely ’91:
