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Month: July 2022

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2005 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren

While I’ve always found the McLaren SLR an intriguing car, it’s never been a car that I fully understood. Following in the footsteps of the “Holy Grail” of supercars, the F1, the SLR just didn’t seem really that impressive in any way. Yes, it was fast. Yes, it sounded like a radial-engined airplane in full attack mode. Yes, the brakes caught on fire when it went too fast. But compared to the howling, scalded cat Carrera GT, the SLR just seemed a bit too main-stream. That was further hampered Mercedes-Benz itself when it offered supercharged versions of the SLs – which looked mostly like the SLR, had a nifty folding roof, offered most of the performance and cost a whole lot less.

Today, these ex-supercars maintain the trend; while the Carrera GTs head into the millions, it’s possible to get a McLaren for less than half that amount. To me, they’re the Nico Rosberg of supercars; undoubtedly talented, but unfortunately presented alongside someone with…well, more talent.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren on eBay

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Double Take: 1985 Audi 4000S

While I’m a big fan of the Audi B2 chassis, I don’t spend much time looking at or for the low man on the totem pole – the 4000S. Audi’s badging in the post-facelift B2 was odd, as there was no model below the “S” offered here – so the 4000S was the base model. Although these were the least powerful B2s on offer, in manual form they could just about keep up with the Coupe GT and 4000 quattro because they were also the lightest of the chassis offered. Power came from a 1.8 inline-4 borrowed from the GTI and GLI Volkswagens, but it was mounted longitudinally like all B2 motors. Even though they were down on power to the 5s, the inline-4 also had 20% less motor hanging out front, making them fairly nimble. Like their 5-cylinder GT brethren, you had a choice between a 5-speed manual or the venerable 3-speed automatic that appeared in everything from the Vanagon to the Porsche 944. Visually the wheels looked the same as the bigger-brother GT and quattro, but they were actually a different version of the R8 hiding smaller brakes. They were also the cheapest Audi you could buy in the 1980s. Though we often look at 4000 quattros, the reality is that about 75% or more of any given model year’s sales were front drivers. 1987 saw 9,043 out of 11,972 sold in this configuration. These appeared to be bought primarily by older women who wanted a more refined sedan but weren’t ready to buy the W201 Mercedes-Benz or E30 BMW. Much more often than their all-wheel drive counterparts, or even the GT, clean examples of the prolific 4000S pop up for sale. To prove my point, there are no less than two on offer this week!

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1985 Audi 4000S on eBay

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1998 Mercedes-Benz C55 AMG

Just one time I’d love to get the full story on how these crazy low-production cars actually ended up getting built. Did the board member in charge of production planning buzz off to St. Moritz for three weeks and the guys on the production line throw together some leftover parts until he got back? Then again, these are the Germans here. Nothing is done without a meeting, another meeting, a planning session, a meeting about the planning session, and then a very precise schedule about production but not before having a safety meeting. There is a method to this madness, and madness is what we got with today’s car.

This is 1998 Mercedes-Benz C55 AMG. Reportedly there were 59 of these cars produced, which were the then-W202 C-Class AMG but with the 5.4-liter M113 from the E55. Why only 59? Who knows. Although this one has something different about it that you can see through the windshield. It is in fact one of the very few right-hand-drive examples for the UK.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1998 Mercedes-Benz C55 AMG on eBay.UK

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2008 Audi RS4

Back in January, I took a look at the fan-favorite RS4:

2007 Audi RS4

Many of these are tempting in the 20k-range, but as I said in that listing you may be better off looking for a lower-mile, better-cared-for example. While you’re there, you might as well get one in the signature color – Sprint Blue Pearl Effect. That’s what we have here – so what will it cost to get into?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2008 Audi RS4 on eBay

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2020 Mercedes-AMG GT R Roadster

I have to give it to Mercedes, they milked as much as they could from the C190 AMG GT chassis. Launched for the 2015 model year, the lineup includes the GT, GT S, GT C, GT R, GT R Pro, GT and GT C Roadster, GT Black Series, and the track-only GT Track Series. Missing from that list is today’s car, the GT R Roadster. Production was limited to just 750 units – probably because they wanted people to just go buy the SL63 AMG.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT R Roadster on eBay

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