I recently pushed my finger on the right mouse button on some horrible click bait that came across my Facebook feed. The headline promised “The Top 10 Film Car Chases” or something that at least peaked my interest, if nothing else than to balk at the poorly researched and ill-chosen assemblage. And I was right; fighting through the pop-up ads and barely identifiable as English descriptions, I trudged through the list – baffled as I got closer to 10 that there was such a gap in the line up. Sure, you expect – and I agree with – movies like Vanishing Point, The French Connection, and Bullitt making the list. They’re iconic. But when The Fast and The Furious appears and a movie like Ronin doesn’t, I come within an inch of throwing my computer across the room. Silly, really, considering that none of this actually means anything, but besides being a huge fan of the movie, I’m even a more huge fan of the star of the movie. No, not Bobby. I’m of course talking about the Audi S8 – fast enough and shove-worth for the nitrous-induced chase across France. But the S8 really needs no introduction here. Today, to resurrect the honor of the dark green S8 from Ronin, I’m going to look at two examples of rare shades that never made it to the U.S.. Early in the run, U.S. customers did have the option of two different greens – Racing Green Pearl Effect in 2001 and nearly identical Irish Green Pearl Effect in 2002. Both were dark green but with a bunch of character. But what if you wanted something a bit lighter and lived in Europe?
Category: Double Take
Audi established a new bar for fast wagons with the RS2 Avant, and the signature color of that model was termed “RS Blue”. Immediately, the vibrant hue was recognizable as the warning sign to other drivers that more lurked under the hood than most normal grocery getters. Audi would continue this trend and signature color with the new quattro GmbH-made S6 Plus a few years later. But in 2001, Audi made the exclusive color a bit more pedestrian by offering it on the B5 S4. Now termed “Nogaro Blue Pearl”, it developed an immediate fan following since then – as now – for most, purchasing either a RS2 or S6 Plus isn’t in the cards. Audi continued the shade on to the B6 platform, where it continued to be the defacto shade of speed until it was discontinued in the B7 chassis. While Audi has recently brought the color back into its lineup, for many the older cars still have a distinctive draw and Nogaro cars typically demand a premium. For some, that premium is heightened even more when the interior was opted with the Nogaro colored Alcantara. Add in Avant and 6-speed to the option list on these cars, and the collective Audi fanboy community draws a sharp breath as lips are bitten and pants decidedly tighten. As a treat, we have two examples to consider – which is more Nogtastic?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001.5 Audi S4 Avant on Washington DC Craigslist
Comments closedThe time has once again come that you can not purchase a new Mercedes-Benz in the United States with a manual gearbox. The SLK250 was the last to be equipped as such. Even on a stroll around Frankfurt, Germany last week, I spotted few new Mercedes-Benzes with a proper gearshift on the console. As time passes on, they are only going to become more rare. So we might as well look back to more vintage models to satisfy our dynamic driving needs. We’ll take a look at two very different 190E models today, both equipped with 5-speed manual gearboxes. We’ll start first with this European spec 1985 190E 2.3-16 for sale in Florida.
Click for details: 1985 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 at Champion Motors
4 CommentsAhh, red E30 M3s. Sure, these boxy bulldogs look good in just about any hue, but red as a symbol of lust and speed is not the exclusive property of the Italians. Red also plays an interesting part in the E30 M3’s history, as the striking, orange-tinted Hennarot was discontinued after one year in the US and supplanted by Zinnoberrot, a deeper and more classic hue. Both are beautiful in their own right, but Hennarot’s intensity and rarity has elicited more fandom and desire in an already-vociferous market.
Today we have two beautiful M3s from the same seller and in the same price range, each a shining example of its chosen red with a couple of unique touches.
Click for details: 1989 BMW E30 M3 on eBay
3 CommentsLast week, I pitted a wickedly turned up 944 Turbo against a much more tame E30 M3. My feeling was that the M3 was overpriced in comparison to the 944 Turbo – especially when you considered the performance envelope the 944 was capable of. That particular example was churning out in excess of twice what the M3 was producing from the legendary S14 – not exactly an apples to apples competition in anything but pricing. To equal the playing field a bit, this week I have two different racing M3s – the first and last of the two door variety. How does a very tuned E30 compare in value to a E92?