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Author: Carter

2001 Audi TT Roadster 225 quattro

2001 Audi TT Roadster 225 quattro

Published February 26, 2023 by Carter

In 1993, my father purchased a W113 Mercedes-Benz 280SL Roadster. It was green with black MB Tex and do you know what? It looked, and felt, old. At that point, it was a 22-year-old car that had been mostly forgotten by the enthusiast world. After all, the dated W113’s replacement – the oh so 80s even though it was from the 70s R107 – had just gone out of production, itself replaced by the thoroughly modern R129. I loved the R129 at the time, and the W113 seemed like a dinosaur by comparison. But my father loved the look of the W113, and so for the then princely sum of mid-teens he purchased a relatively clean, reasonably low mileage and (almost) fully functional Mercedes-Benz SL.

Fast forward three decades, and the SL market has gone completely bonkers, awakening to the fact that the W113 was (and still is) a beautiful, classic and elegant design. I’m not even sure you could buy a non-functional, rusty wreck of a W113 for the same price my father paid in 1993 – and an expensive restoration would await you.

Why do I mention this?

Today’s Audi TT Roadster 225 quattro is also 22 years old, amazingly. It’s also green, and you can get a pretty nice one in the teens. Will the TT be the W113 of the future? That seems unlikely, but they’re very nice cars that were reasonably well built, offer plenty of fun, and are oozing with style.

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2022 Audi RS6 Avant Exclusive

2022 Audi RS6 Avant Exclusive

Published February 25, 2023 by Carter

Back in 2020 I saw the first shipment of fully wrapped RS6s arrive at the port next to my home. Audi’s top-tier wagon had finally arrived, with a full-fat 4.0T cranking out 561 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. Coupled with a hybrid assistance motor and an eight-speed automatic gearbax, it’s no surprise the numbers are staggering. 0-60 is a hair over 3 seconds, and it’ll bury the needle close to 200 mph if deregulated. This isn’t a supercar; this is a five-passenger wagon that weighs in just over 5,000 lbs – with nothing in it! Also staggering? The tech, with touchscreens, virtual cockpit, and torque-vectoring. The tires, which measure 285/30 and up to 22″ in diameter. The brakes, which are 16.5″ in front and ‘only’ 14.6″ out back. And, the price. People are still in line to wait for these cars, and that’s despite the monster pricetag starting at $121,000. Tick a few extra options, like running the car through Audi Exclusive with a color like today’s Goodwood Green Pearl Effect, and you’re looking at $140,000 plus!

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2016 BMW 335i xDrive GT M Sport

2016 BMW 335i xDrive GT M Sport

Published February 20, 2023 by Carter

BMW’s brief foray into “Gran Turismo” models still confuses me. After removing the 5-Series wagon from the North American market, the company decided that US buyers needed more space in the 5 again. Why those buyers couldn’t opt for one of BMW’s plentiful SUV and SAV models – the X1, X3, X5, or X6 – still baffles me, but nonetheless the company forged ahead. While it was called, a 5, it was actually closer to a 7-Series platform. The resulting G07 chassis was a disproportionate and clunky combination that managed (somehow) to look even more awkward than the X6. Baffled, too, were buyers, who drove away from dealers at a rate of only about 3,000 per year.

Undeterred, the company extended the same treatment to the 3. Based on the long-wheelbase Chinese-market F35 sedan, the F34 GT utilized the F31 wagon’s rear suspension, revised and adjustable rear seats, raised front seats, and a big hatchback. Although it looked sleeker than the Sport Wagon, because it was larger in every dimension it actually could hold more luggage. The range-topping 335i carried the single-turbo N55 inline-6, and here they were tied only to an 8-speed automatic. While admittedly a lot less awkward than the 5 GT, the 3 GT was still…different, and the 5 and 3 GTs were single-model-only to date, as the hatchback designs moved to the 6- and 4-Series models, respectively. So why buy? Well, like every prior generation of 3, you couldn’t get the most powerful motor in the Sport Wagon in the US, so the 3 GT offers the most space and spunk that you could get in the small chassis. Let’s take a look.

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2007 BMW 335i Convertible

2007 BMW 335i Convertible

Published February 19, 2023 by Carter

When it originally launched, I felt that the E92/E93 looks were too heavy compared to the outgoing E46 model, but I have to admit that I think this car has aged pretty well. One thing that couldn’t be argued was the performance on tap from the new twin-turbocharged N54 inline-6. While it didn’t offer quite the spin of the S54 in the previous generation M3, it had more usable grunt. Coupled with a 6-speed manual transmission, the performance figures in real-world driving generally indicated that the 335i was as fast as the M3 had been. Inside, the E9x was thoroughly modern, too – if the E46 was the last of the classic driver-oriented dash designs dating back to the late 1970s, the E9x ushered in the new era of electronic-heavy dash design to the 3-series. Is it all bad? No, not really. Build quality and materials were as stout, if not better than, previous generations, and often inside and out these cars still look quite fresh.

Couple that with the have-your-complicated-cake-and-pay-for-it-too folding hardtop, the 335i convertible offers a unique blend of performance, style, and comfort that it seems like few cars can match – and they’re relatively cheap on the used market. Let’s check out this Space Grey Metallic over Coral Red first-year example that has just 16,000 miles:

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2002 Audi TT Coupe 225 quattro ALMS Edition

2002 Audi TT Coupe 225 quattro ALMS Edition

Published February 18, 2023 by Carter

You could be forgiven for thinking that the VAG 1.8 liter turbocharged motor was the go-to motor for the company in the late 90s and early 00s. It appeared nearly everywhere in the U.S.; the Golf, Jetta, GTI, GLI, Passat, Beetle, Audi A4, and Audi TT all received the forced-induction unit. And that was just in the U.S.; go to Europe, and you’d find many more models (the A6 and Sharan) and even other companies (VAG’s Skoda and SEAT) with the venerable motor. They were used in race series like Formula Palmer as well. You’d also be forgiven for thinking they were all the same – however, a pause for thought would tell you they couldn’t be. First off, there were the drive train configurations; the Golf-based variants have their engines mounted transversely, while the Audi A4-based cars have them longitudinally. Then there is the output that was available from the factory; the 1.8T started with 150 horsepower in the early 1990s and ended with 240 horsepower in the highest output TT Sport. The natural assumption would be to think they had just turned up the boost, but in fact there were a host of changes to the higher horsepower motors to help sustain the increased pressure.

There are, in fact, no less than 13 distinct versions of the 1.8T from that generation. All shared the same basic structure; cast iron block, 20 valve head with a single turbocharger; but details including injection, crank, computers and engine management and breather systems vary in between each of the models. The Audi TT was the only one to offer various engine outputs here; available in either 180 horsepower or 225 horsepower versions, the later of which was pared with a 6-speed manual and Haldex viscous-coupling all-wheel drive. Though heavy, they were nonetheless sprightly thanks to the turbocharged mill. I’ve said for some time now that I think these will eventually be more collectable as they were an important part of the development of the company, yet few remain in good shape. Were I going to get one, I’d opt for one of the 2002 special edition coupes; the ALMS edition, launched to celebrate the American Le Mans Series victory by Audi’s R8 race car. Available in two colors, Misano Red with extended Silver Nappa leather or Avus Silver Pearl with Brilliant Red Nappa leather, they were mostly an appearance package but also received special 18″ ‘Celebration’ alloys and were limited to 500 examples each:

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