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Color is everything on a vintage car for me, and some colors seem to work better than others on certain models. Today’s car, a 1980 Mercedes-Benz 500SEL, might be one of those “love it or hate it” examples.
This is a grey-market car that probably was imported when new judging by the door plaque, and it is finished in the very-rare shade of Signal Red. I don’t believe this color was ever offered on any US-market W126s because who wants a red S-Class? I know the 1980s were a wild time, but your SL was supposed to be red, not your very serious S-Class. However, now that this car is 40 years old, is it officially cool enough where the color doesn’t matter?
Way back in 1980, Porsche decided to cook up a little special edition model for its wildly popular 911SC. It was pitched as an edition to honor the Porsche Motorsports team working in Weissach and I suppose it was an honor well deserved seeing as Porsche dominated nearly every racing series they enter in the 1970s. It was named the “Weissach” and just 468 units were produced. Half were painted Metallic Black, the other half in Platinum Metallic. Other special touches were a flexible lip on the front air dam, whale tail rear spoiler, Bilstein shocks, color-matched Fuchs wheels, and Doric Grey leather upholstery with burgundy accents. MSRP came in at around $32,000, which wasn’t a premium at all compared to the standard 911SC.
Today, we have one of those examples up for sale in Texas finished in Platinum Metallic with an impressive 106,000 miles on the odometer. Worth the buy if you are looking for a driver?
This is it. This is the big one – literally. The Maybach 62 rings in with a 150-inch wheelbase and a total length of over 242 inches. Single parking spaces need not apply. Starting price? Over $400,000. You can see where I am going with this one. This was a car bought by those who would never drive it. Still, today if you buy one of these to actually drive, you are out of your mind. However, now that these are old enough to legally buy cigarettes? It might not be a bad idea. Well, maybe it’s not a bad idea…
While the wild men and woman over in Stuttgart were cranking out the crazy colors, it looks like the usually serious folks at BMW wanted to have a little fun too. Or rather, it looks like someone paid them to do this. This is a 2003 BMW 540i created by the Individual department with not only one of the crazier exterior colors I’ve seen on an E39, but probably a top three wildest interior setups I’ve seen as well. The story is a corporation reportedly ordered this car and had it armored as well, which makes no sense considering you usually want cars that blend in if you are the kind of people who needs an armored vehicle. Whatever the case may be, I am glad it exists because I live with these wild specs. Wait until you see this interior.
It’s hard to believe it took Porsche until the facelift generation of the 997 to utilize the GTS moniker on a 911 considering it started way back in 1963 with the 904 Carrera GTS. It had a nice run on the 924, 928, and even the Cayenne of all things before hitting the signature model 911. Strategically, it slotted in perfect between the Carrera S and the hardcore GT3 for the drivers who wanted more but not enough to rattle the fillings out of their teeth. Now, the GTS badge is literally on every model Porsche produces as the value is there for buyers and well, people see it as the true sweet spot of their model range.
Today we have a 2012 up for sale in today in the Bay Area with just under 8,000 miles on the odometer. On the outside you have the classic Basalt Black Metallic, while the interior is covered in Carrera Red leather. This is a special one.
