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Category: Motorsports Monday

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Motorsports Monday: Niki Lauda’s 1984 Mercedes-Benz 190e 2.3-16v

To celebrate the opening of the newly revised Nürburgring in 1984, Mercedes-Benz organized a friendly, yet still fiercely competitive race between some of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time. That means names like Sir Stirling Moss, James Hunt, Alain Prost  , Phil Hill, and upstart Ayrton Senna were among the drives in the field. What were they all driving? None other than the then-new 190E 2.3-16V. All of these cars were slightly modified for the race with bolt-in roll cages and some racing seats but other than that, they ran the cars as-is. The winner of the race was the 24 year-old Senna, which isn’t much of a surprise when looking back now, but the driver who finished 2nd? Nikki Lauda. This is his car he raced and yes, it is now for sale.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Mercedes-Benz 190e 2.3-16v at Auto Classics

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Motorsports Monday: 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera RS NGT

I’ve got a couple of very interesting and rarely seen 964s to start this week. Both, of course, are fairly expensive (well, in one case very expensive) and both showcase models not originally made available in the US market.

We’ll begin with this: a 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera RS NGT. Any Porsche enthusiast will be familiar with the Carrera RS. Whether you’re familiar with the 964 Carrera RS or not, the model itself is well known and follows the tried and true formula of combining more power with less weight to produce a wonderful performance-oriented 911. Less familiar is the RS NGT, a model that took the weight loss program of the standard RS a few steps further. So while we might think of the Carrera RS as a track-focused 911 you can enjoy on the street, the NGT really is more of a track car. The interior is fully stripped of all comforts (instead of carpets you get plywood floors!) and a full roll cage welded in place. Additional features like a long-range fuel tank, fire extinguisher, and external cut off further separate these cars from your standard RS. 290 were produced.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera RS NGT on eBay

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Motorsports Monday: 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo Cup

Continuing on the 944 theme, there are of course a few transaxles that actually are worth some big bucks right now. The development models – the 924 Carrera GT, GTS and GTR – are pretty well priced out of this world. In the 944 run, the Silver Rose cars are highly valued, too – but value-wise, they’re relative bargains compared to this car. Yet I’ll still claim that this car is a relative bargain compared to its contemporaries. Let me explain.

As a promotional series in 1986, Porsche teamed with Rothmans for sponsorship of a one-make support race series in Canada. The result was the 944 Cup, which ran normally aspirated lightweight examples of otherwise stock 944s in 1986 and 1987. Every once in a while, one of these rare rides (there were only 31 sold) pops up and we’ve covered them before. The big draw on these cars are the lightweight aspect thanks to no sunroof and manual windows, and of course the Rothmans livery.

But the series proved successful and in 1987 Porsche followed up with the more developed, more powerful and more excited Rothmans 944 Turbo Cup. In fact, the Turbo Cup cars were developed for single-race series around the globe – in total, there were 5 series and just shy of 200 Turbo Cup cars produced. Like the prior 944 RC, the formula was pretty simple – lighten a 944 Turbo, leave the engine “stock”, and fit it with race equipment. But Porsche, being Porsche, went a bit above and beyond.

Though the Turbo Cup looked for all intents and purposes like just a 1987 Turbo with racing colors and a cage, the reality was far from that. The engine retained most of its stock components, but Porsche fit magnesium oil pans and intakes to lighten the load. The turbocharger was uprated as well to develop more twist. Magnesium carried over to the transmission bits and even the wheels, which copied the production series designs but were much lighter. Inside the Turbo Cup gained a cage and a Recaro race seat, but lost its climate control, the glove box, the radio console and even door pockets. Power steering and air conditioning were yanked. Gone too were the rear wiper, remote hatch release and power windows. Like Audis from the period, the brake system was anti-lock, but included an on-off switch to disable the system. Bilstein provided upgraded damping, and Porsche also fit larger roll bars front and rear. The result was that they managed to get the road going 944 Turbo down to 1,280 kg (2,800 lbs) while simultaneously making it more powerful.

As some of the most limited 944s out there, and coupled with a popular race series featuring some of the most famous names in 80s sports car racing, the Turbo Cup cars have developed a cult following and bring some of the strongest bids in the transaxle world:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo Cup on eBay

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Motorsports Monday: 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera/DP935

The last few cars I’ve written up have involved a little detective work. To be honest, it’s something I really enjoy about writing for the site. And generally what we learn is that you can’t always take a seller at face value. No surprise there, right?

But that doesn’t mean that the car in question isn’t neat in its own right. Today is a great example of that. We have a racing 911. It’s air-cooled and it has many wings – associations that nod towards the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the 935 program was Porsche’s cutting-edge race technology. And it’s in one of the more iconic liveries of the period – the pastel green of Vaillant sponsorship associated with the Kremer brothers.

Is all as it would seem?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera/DP935 on eBay

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Feature Listing Double Take: Kachel Motor Company’s 2006 Porsche Cayman S and 2007 Cayman S 3.8

While the Porsche 986 Boxster might have been the car that saved Porsche with its massive popularity, the 987-derived Cayman was what made the mid-engine design popular with track enthusiasts. Especially in more potent “S” form, the Cayman is a giant killer with sublime vehicle dynamics and plenty of punch even without a turbo. The 987 refresh in 2005 fixed many of the perceived visual faults of the 986 Boxster design with a slant towards a more aggressive look. The Coupe added a smooth, flowing hatchback line to the 997-inspired exterior, creating a lightweight, 7/8ths scale mid-engine 911. That it was less expensive than the traditional flat-6 lineup didn’t hurt, either. It was, and remains, a hit.

It was no surprise then that immediately these Caymans became popular with track enthusiasts and racers alike, spawning their own race series in the PCA. But you don’t need to fork over $100,000 for one of the rare Napleton Interseries cars to have a lot of fun at the track, as Kachel Motor Company proves with this duo of Cayman S racers:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2006 Porsche Cayman S on Panjo

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