Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Last week we took a look at the big boy of the R129 Mercedes-Benz SL lineup, SL73 AMG. Sandwiched in between the first year the SL73 was offered and the last few years of its production is the SL70 AMG that we see here. As the badge denotes, this SL has a 7.0 liter engine under the hood, a V12 in this case, producing 490 horsepower. The SL70 AMG was a little more common than the SL73 AMG, but not by much, with only 150 produced over a two year production run.
On a recent visit to Berlin, I was surprised to come across a black BMW Z8 parked on the street in Die Mitte, a central borough of the German capital. Since reunification 25 years ago, a lot of money and talent has flooded into this city, with high end shops and consumers with Euros to spend. The Z8, though, was a bit of short lived flagship for the Bavarian marque, rarely seen in the wild today. At first values held steady to right around where they sold for new, but now collectors are becoming hip to this rare roadster. The fact that James Bond made the Z8 famous in The World Is Not Enough just adds to the vehicle’s cache. This Z8 for sale in Florida has just over 5,000 miles on the odometer and will catch your eye in its red hue, a departure from the silver and black paint jobs that usually adorned these Bimmers.
The 1994 Porsche 928GTS that Andy from flüssig magazine featured back in January is back up for sale, with a Buy It Now of $75,000. The 928GTS is the ultimate expression of Porsche’s long lived GT car, and with the 5-speed manual gearbox it makes it all the more desirable as a collector vehicle.
The 7 series might have a tradition of being one of the priciest vehicles in the BMW lineup, but like many luxury sedans, depreciation takes hold quickly. Thus, it’s not uncommon to see many clapped out examples of Munich’s finest flooding the used market, tempting those who might want a slice of the good life but who are ill prepared for the cost of their upkeep. Occasionally, you’ll find a one or two owner example that has been cared for the right way, such as this example for sale in Vancouver. A 26-year-old, twelve cylinder BMW with over six figures in mileage is still a scary proposition to some. However, if you must have one, this wouldn’t be a bad starting point.
You could say that the Mercedes-Benz R107 has finally attained classic status. This was the Mercedes to aspire to for two decades and spanned a period of great change in automotive performance, safety and technology. Through it all, the R107 kept going on and on and on. Towards the end, we in the US market had but one model to choose from, the 560SL. Only Japan and Australia would see this model sold new. The rest of the world could chose from two V8 models, the 500SL and 420SL and the car we see here, the six-cylinder 300SL. For a car with such a storied number on its boot lid, few here in the US know about it. For the more spirited driver, you could even spec one with a 5-speed manual. This car is so equipped, showing less than 40,000 miles on the clock.
