Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Back in “the day” if you knew about what AMG was and the cool things they produced, you could have a little taste. If you purchased a Mercedes-Benz product and took your new car to AMG West in Beverly Hills, California or AMG of Missouri, you had your choice of the catalogue. Truth be told, most of the products were bolt-ons, although there were some power upgrades in terms camshafts and exhaust systems. Today’s car, a 1986 190E 2.3 up for sale in California, is one of those bolt-on cars.
Back in early spring I took a look at a 2016 Porsche Cayman “Black Edition†that was basically a bunch of options packaged together and given a random name. It was certainly no coincidence as the 718 Cayman launched the next model year, and it is no coincidence the 2016 Porsche 911 Carrera “Black Edition” was launched just before the 991.2 generation. Like the Cayman, it is a collection of options and some “Black Edition†door sills. Again, there were no performance additions or even suspension upgrades. Who were they trying to fool?
Back in March I took a look at what seemed to be a European-spec M535i – but some digging revealed it was just a regular 535i kitted out with M Technic bits:
If you’re a careful observer, today’s car was parked right next to it and is now available. Unlike the last one, it carries a DC71 VIN and appears to be a legitimate LHD M535i. Unfortunately, outside of that we don’t know very much – this dealer seems to be hooked up with importing E28s but they often look a bit tatty and there’s little direct information. Still, these are rare cars to see in the US, so I figured it was worth a gander.
If what you’re looking at seems…well, too old to be called a 1976 model – but simultaneously too new to be a pre-War car from some aspects, you’re right on both accounts. This is a Swiss-made Sbarro 328 replica. Italian-born Franco Sbarro started his company in 1971 in French-speaking Switzerland and immediately started copying German automobiles. They’re still open today, continuing to build limited-run prototypes, but in the 1970s a majority of their work seems to have been based upon historic cars; Bugattis, GT40s, Lola T70s. What was interesting was what they built these replicas on; Sbarro installed fiberglass copies of the originals over BMW or Mercedes-Benz chassis with original components. In the case of the 328 replica you see here, the engine, chassis, rear suspension and transmission was based upon the small-chassis BMW. In front, Sbarro utilized NSU components for the front suspension and steering. Headlights came from a Mercedes-Benz. The result of this hodge-podge was surprisingly good, managing to capture a fair amount of the aesthetic of the original without looking too out-of-shape, though they were admittedly slightly shorter and squatter than the original. Having standard BMW running gear simplified the importation process, and consequently Sbarro offered these replicas in the US market through a Florida dealer. At least a few were sold here, typically with chassis numbers XXXXUSAXX. This one is claimed to be number 5.
The Porsche 914 always deals with the stigma of it just being a Volkswagen that was slapped with a Porsche badge at the last minute, but time heals all wounds and these are generally accepted as being part of the family. Yes, they are rather slow, even by 1970s standards, but that is what you get when buying a 914. Unless you are spending crazy money for a 914/6, your best bet is the buy the nicest example you can find and just enough to the quirkiness of them. Today’s car, a 1974 914 2.0 is finished in the amazing color of Olympic Blue and looks to be extremely clean. Why? Because it’s for sale by its original owner.
