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Author: Carter

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Tuner Tuesday: 1989 Volkswagen GTi “EVII”

Published October 7, 2014 by Carter

Do you ever wonder what happens to all of those wild magazine cars? You know the ones I’m talking about – the ones you flip to first, creations that make you wonder what the motivation of the builder was? Honestly, most fade into obscurity – but once in a while one pops up again for sale, and today’s GTi EVII built by Guy Light is one of those cars that may just may you say “Oh, yeah….I remember that!” It’s been a full 25 years since this car was new and a flash in the pan. Light chopped the top off the car, added a body kit and some great BBS wheels and Recaro seats, and Viola! He made the Mk.III Cabrio prototype. Seriously, look at this car – if it doesn’t scream Cabrio to you, I’m not sure what would. Reading through the period article about the car, it was certainly an interesting and unique vision with an extraordinarily limited scope. The part that I found most fascinating? Light offered to charge individuals a staggering $13,000 – on top of the price of the car – to complete the conversion. Aren’t you surprised that you don’t see more of these floating around than the original prototype?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 Volkswagen GTi “EVII” on eBay

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Motorsports Monday: Mild or Wild M3s

Published October 6, 2014 by Carter

Going to the track is like any other addiction; it has its highs and lows. You may start going with a stock car, but soon you’ll feel the need to modify the suspension, beef up with wheels and tires, throw on some racing brakes, strip the interior and all of that heavy stuff that slows you down like air conditioning, sound deadening, and seats. Then you drop a cage in and hit the track; all smiles, no doubt, but it’s been an expensive journey and your track weapon is really only good at fast laps for a small percentage of its existence; the rest of the time, it just sits or is exceptionally uncomfortable and inconvenient as a daily driver. Plus, modern cars have gotten so expensive and complicated, with enough computer aids that they can nearly lap themselves. What is an enthusiast to do, then? Well, you can look towards some perennial favorites that helped to establish the reputation of BMW; the M3. In this case, I have two examples that are set up to hit the track – a racer E30 and a street-drivable but track-biased E46. Which is your flavor?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 BMW M3 on eBay

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2002 Audi S8

Published October 6, 2014 by Carter

A few weeks ago I wrote up three rare-to-see colored S8s. If the S8 wasn’t already a bit of a special item to spot, seeing them in shades outside of the normal black or bright silver is a real treat. While I know that not all enthusiasts feel that the Audis of this generation are the most reliable or fastest cars (they’re not, I agree), the combination of the 360 horsepower V8 and that silky-smooth exterior create a really desirable package. The D2 is just right; well proportioned, a perfect stance, some great and unique properties like the Aluminum Space Frame design to keep weight down, and a luxurious and well appointed interior. The result? One heck of a well rounded packaged that is very affordable. Missing from the last roundup was one color that our reader John and I had been exchanging – the 2002-only color “Espresso Brown” – while we found two examples, both advertisements had disappeared by the time of writing. Well, today one is back with some new photos:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 Audi S8 on craigslist

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Fantastic Phaetons – 2004 and 2006 Volkswagen Phateon W12s

Published October 5, 2014 by Carter

The Volkswagen Phaeton has been, since introduction, quite an intriguing car. Generally passed off by those out of the know as a rebadged A8, every time I see one I’m blown away that Volkswagen pulled the project off. Despite what the American enthusiasts think, the exclusive executive sedan has been very popular in Europe and specifically Germany – where it’s much more in vogue to fly a little lower on the radar. Fly low the Phaeteon does; for many, at first glance it doesn’t look much different than the B5.5 Passat, and many of the styling cues were incorporated into the B6 Passat sedan. Couple that with a general resemblance to the D2 Audi A8, and not many notice this serene Volkswagen shuttling its passengers in near silence. I say near silence, since the only noise you hear inside is the slightly slower beating of your heart and heavy breaths as you soak in the luxury. They’re disturbingly quiet inside, thanks in no small part to extra thick glass and soundproofing. Every conceivable option available in the Volkswagen catalog was thrown at these cars, including the top-spec W12 motor. Shared with the Audi A8, Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur, the W12 is a monster of power – easily capable of propelling the very important people riding along with you quite close to 200 m.p.h. when deregulated. This is especially shocking given the Phaeteon’s weight – a staggering 500 lbs heavier than the Audi A8 you’d presume was the same car, the Volkswagen was simply in another weight class and quite different than the D2/3 chassis. Yet, despite the exotic Bentley stablemates that share many components and the D1 platform, today you can pick up one of these expensive cars that were a bit of a sales flop at a substantial discount:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2006 Volkswagen Phaeton W12 on eBay

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2007 BMW M Coupe

Published October 4, 2014 by Carter

The current BMW market is quite interesting. The three posts I did on BMWs yesterday really drew that into sharp contrast for me; first, the E34 M5 Double Take underscored a more simple time at BMW with classic designs and classic motors. Then the “New Blue” BMW roundup outlined what’s currently available – progress happens, but it’s apparent that BMW’s current market has diverged substantially from the blueprint of the 1980s and 1990s success. But capitalizing on that 1980s legend are perhaps some undeserving cars, as the E30 M3 fail from yesterday proved. Where is an enthusiast to look, then? Well, you could argue you don’t have to look back very far to get a great, classic piece that follows in the footsteps of some of BMW’s great designs, but still with a modern twist. The Z4 M Coupe is a great example of this – a slick design, rear drive only, a 6-speed manual transmission and the last of the great normally aspirated inline-6s, the S54, hiding under the long hood:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2007 BMW M Coupe on eBay

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