Bright red isn’t a color you would typically paint an executive sedan, but, in the case of the E38 BMW 7 series, somehow it worked. Imola Red was, however, offered as an option on the E38 and was a popular choice with those opting for the M-Sport package. It can be a bit tricky to identify a true M-Sport, as the real defining features are the high stall speed torque converter and lower ratio differential. However, the visual clues are fairly easy to spot, such as the Shadowline trim, M-Parallel alloys, M Steering wheel and the countour/sport seats. This 740i M-Sport for sale in South Carolina is described as a one owner car that is showing just over 112k miles on the odometer. These late model E38s have turned into a bit of a cult classic, given the styling direction of the 7er that followed.
Category: BMW
It’s a strange world we live in when I first looked at the $39,500 asking price of this 1985 Alpina C2 2.5 and thought, “Well, that’s pretty reasonable”. But at what may be the height of the Zeitgeist of E30, when asks on 318is models are in the 20s, 320is are in the 30s and you’ve heard enough about the M3’s race winning streak to nauseate Jochen Neerpasch (no, no, I’m sure you know who he is without looking it up, “lifetime” M3 fan!), is it really all that outrageous to ask $40,000 for an excellent condition, ultra limited Alpina model? This particular one was a stranger even in Europe; the C2 2.5 was a Japan-only model with 74 reported produced. It was also the second least powerful on offer from Alpina, with only the C1 2.3/1 below. Although that meant it was more a sheep in wolf’s clothes than the typical other way around, the C2 2.5 still packed 185 horsepower and matched it with upgraded suspension, wheels, brakes, exhaust, and of course the typical Alpina décor. This particular example, looking splendid in Lapis Blue, comes to the market with only 46,000 miles:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1985 Alpina C2 2.5 on eBay
2 CommentsI’ve been on a wagon kick lately over the past week and I’m not about to slow down with my first post of the week. This BMW E30 estate might not have the engine the enthusiast lusts after, but it is wrapped around the one body style forbidden to US customers that is highly sought after on these shores, given their legal status in the eyes of the government. This 324td estate for sale in New Hampshire is originally an Italian market vehicle, equipped with a 5-speed manual to help get the most out of the oil burner under the hood.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1990 BMW 324td Estate on eBay
1 CommentAs vintage circuit competition cars have steadily ascended into the automotive Valhalla of pricing thanks to success of popular races like the Le Mans Classic, Monterey Historics, and of course the many events at Goodwood, the fallout has been to pull up related motorsports. For some time, vintage rally cars were generally considered used up, tired old hulks. But the fringe of enthusiasts that loved seeing the flatout and fearless driving attitude adopted by many a rally driver has grown to a much greater audience with new races like the Targa Newfoundland and Tasmania to name a few. While those races attract much newer and faster metal, there’s still a huge audience that loves seeing the pre-Quattro 1970s vintage rally cars. With high revving naturally aspirated motors and rear drive, this was the original ‘Formula Drift’, with constantly sideways Ford Escorts, Fiat 131 Abarths and the superhero of the 1970s WRC scene, the Lancia Stratos. But mixed in there too were some Porsche 911s, and of course, the effervescent BMW 2002:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1972 BMW 2002tii on eBay
Comments closedThe other day I posted a 500E, which was Mercedes’ take on the Q-ship formula of stuffing a large, powerful engine and race-tweaked suspension into an ordinary looking mid-size executive sedan. What I didn’t mention was that the 500E was, of course, a response to the original (and some would say best) wolf in sheep’s clothing: the E34 generation M5. While I’ve posted a few E34s lately, I’ve so far avoided writing about the M-variant (though my colleagues have written up some really nice ones: see here and here, for example). This is only because my preference is to find cheap daily drivers to share with our readers and, as enthusiasts begin to seek out more affordable alternatives to the E30 M3, these M5s are increasingly becoming too expensive to count in that category. Still, when this lovely example popped up the other day on Bimmerforums.com, I couldn’t resist the temptation to write it up.