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Author: Carter

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1995 BMW M3 Sedan Individual

No, you’re not reading the headline wrong. But if you’re clever, you know this is special right away. Because the title specifically says ‘Sedan’, and because the M3 Sedan didn’t arrive on these shores until 1997, that must mean one of three things.

  1. I didn’t have enough coffee when I wrote this
  2. I got the year wrong
  3. It’s a European-market example

(please be 3 please be 3 please be 3)

Yep. While it’s true that I most likely have not yet had enough coffee at time of writing, I assure you – this is not a typo. This 1995 M3 Sedan is sitting up in the Great White North, ready for your consumption. But the story on this one doesn’t end with the special motor under the hood. No, this one’s also a very special color combination, too – Daytona Violet over a BMW Individual interior called Saffron with wood trim. Yeah, it’s worth a look!

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 BMW M3 Sedan on eBay

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1999 Volkswagen Polo Variant 1.9 SDI

The Polo isn’t a model often featured on these pages because 1) they never came to the United States and B) if you’re going through the effort of importing a European car, let’s just say the Polo probably isn’t top of your list. But once in a while a neat example pops up, and that’s the case today.

The fourth generation Polo emerged in the mid-1990s and was heavily based upon the SEAT Ibiza. That car was styled by Giugiaro’s Italdesign, and while arguably not their best work by a country mile, it wasn’t an unattractive small car. It also bore more than a passing similarity to the shape of the Mk.3 Golf, and that was both on purpose and by design – literally – as the Ibiza itself was derived from the Mk.3 chassis.

Introduced with the 6K Polo, as with the Golf, was a five-door Variant model. And as with the European Golf, multiple engines including diesels were available. This particular Polo was optioned with the most trick diesel available in the chassis at the time – the SDI 1.9-liter. And, according to this ad, it was then imported by the US government and now sits in New Hampshire. Huh?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1999 Volkswagen Polo Variant on eBay

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GCFSB Alumnus: 2002 Audi allroad 2.7T Audi Exclusive Olympic Edition 6-speed

Way back in 2015, I looked at a special Allroad – one of ten that were used in the 2002 Sal Lake City Olympics. They were created through Audi’s Exclusive program and were finished in Sprint Blue Pearl Effect. Since they’re so rare, they don’t come up for sale often. But one did come across my desk this week, and it looked awfully familiar. That’s because it’s the same car I looked at back in ’15! So here it is again, about 70k more miles and not quite as pristine as it once was. But it’s still got the desirable 6-speed manual swap, it’s no reserve, and Sprint Blue is always an eye catcher. So let’s take a look at it today!

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 Audi allroad 2.7T Audi Exclusive Olympic Edition 6-speed on eBay

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1992 Audi 100CS quattro

So on to the C4 chassis. Though it was instantly recognizable as an Audi, the all-new C4 bore little resemblance to the boxy C3 it replaced. Fluid lines and curves dominated the design, while new running gear and motors made a splash in performance. The C4 continued to stress Audi’s pioneering aerodynamic tradition, but the result this time was a car which seemed far less top-heavy than the chassis it replaced. It looked more trim even if it was a big bigger than the outgoing model.

On the fly, the 100’s new motivation was a revelation. The 2.8 liter V6 replaced the 2.3 liter inline-5, and though horsepower was only 172 and torque 184, both figures represented a nearly 30% gain over the 5-pot. New, too, was a 4-speed automatic transmission. And while the inside looked little different from the last of the C3, only switch gear was shared and the C4 brought a host of new safety and convenience features to the large-chassis Audi.

Strange, though, was the re-appearance of Audi’s earlier naming convention in the US. Back in the early days of the 5000, Audi had used the “S” and “CS” monikers to denote turbo and quattro models at times (but, again being Audi, inconsistently). Well, the S and CS were back after a four-year hiatus. Base model 100 came with steel wheels, while the “S” model stepped you up in options and gave you alloys. But outside of the 20V turbo S4 model, the 100 to get was still the 100CS, which was the most loaded and gave you the option for Audi’s quattro drivetrain. Fully loaded, they were around $35,000 – not cheap, but also not the most expensive in class, and were still pretty unique in offering all-wheel drive.

However, like the C3, the front-drive 100/100S/100CS outsold the quattro model by a fair margin. Audi claims they traded 2,230 of the new 100CS quattro in 1992, and here’s one of the nicest ones out there:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1992 Audi 100CS quattro on eBay

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1962 Glas S 1004

After spending a bit of time on BMW’s move to front-engine, rear-drive platforms recently, I’d be remiss to not cover one of the more important steps in that development. That was, of course, Hans Glas GmbH, which introduced the world to the belt-driven overhead camshaft engine, which would go on to be the standard…well, pretty much everywhere. But most importantly for BMW, the links – and eventual takeover – of Glas gave them the technology to move from their air-cooled, rear-engine 700 into the Neue Klasse.

So here we have one of the first cars to emerge with that new engine design, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you hadn’t previously heard of it. The S 1004 developed out of the 994cc overhead cam engine being mated with a prototype fiberglass body in 1961, and production started in 1962. You didn’t get much; it was slightly odd in proportion, especially compared to the very pretty 1300 GT that emerged the next year. But here was the blueprint for the small BMW – an overhead camshaft engine up front with a fully-sychromesh four-speed manual driving the rear wheels. Sounds trite, but this was unheard of in a small car before the S 1004. Of course, since this all became standard on other cars nearly immediately, the S 1004 is relegated to the history books, having sold only around 40,000 examples in all configurations before it was discontinued. Today, there’s one of these rare bits of German motoring history for sale in Uruguay:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1962 Glas S 1004 on eBay

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