Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
If the insanity of the crazy modified 80s wasn’t enough for you in earlier’s DP 935 Targa, how about a 962-powered 911 Speedster? Sound absolutely bonkers? Yup, it sure is. But in the no holds barred world of the well-heeled, you can create just about anything that you want. Borrowing elements from the 962, 934, 959 and DP935 and adding them to the already quite rare and valuable Speedster, Bruce Canepa created the ultimate enthusiast’s dream of a convertible 911:
Now primed for summer, the 1988 Porsche 911 Targa DP 935 Slantnose we wrote up earlier this year is still for sale. In the world of original DP cars, this is a bit of an oddity, but also more affordable than most of its turbocharged brothers. Will it leave you seeing red?
I should probably just admit it to myself: I drive a black car, it blends in fairly well with everything else, but I am a sucker for certain colors, especially certain bright colors, and always find myself taking a 2nd or 3rd look at the listing for a car painted in a hue that we would never refer to as subtle. C’est la vie. Here we have a low-mileage Arena Red 1996 Porsche 911 C4S that is located in Colorado. The C4S made its debut with the 993 and featured lowered suspension, Turbo brakes, and the wider rear bodywork of the Turbo, all packaged around Porsche’s all-wheel-drive system. For buyers who wished to forgo the high-stressed forced induction of the 993 Turbo, the 993 C4S offered an alternative that was dynamically similar though in naturally-aspirated form. While certainly not as highly regarded as a 993 Turbo on the current market, the C4S still holds its own and is sure to command excellent value over the years to come.
Okay, so most people don’t seem to get into the race cars I’ve been posting. That’s okay; I get that owning a race car is a bit of a luxury and doesn’t make sense for 99.9% of the population; they’re compromised vehicles that are expensive to maintain and generally spend a tremendous amount of time doing exactly nothing. Think of it then as a 401K, then; but instead of a crazy year end bonus to some CEO you’ll never meet, you get to once in a while take it out to the track. What better way to achieve this than with an affordable track/race car?
Many times when instructing students at the track, I’m asked what they should do to the car; often times the answer is that it’s better to look at a track car if you’re serious about going to the track. Two of the best and most affordable options are the Porsche 944 and BMW M3; sporting offerings in their original configuration from two sporting manufacturers, they offered near perfect balance, good aftermarket parts availability, plenty of competition if you want to go racing at the next level and – best of all – you can do it all on a budget. Let’s start with the M3:
Like earlier’s M Roadster post, if you’ve missed out on the E30 market and are looking for a collectable classic, another car with serious potential over the coming few years is the 944 Turbo. Lagging (no pun intended) behind some of its contemporaries in increasing values, most decent 944 Turbos can still be had for under $15,000, and very good examples can be found up to around $20,000. However, if you want the best of the bunch, you’ll save your lunch money for the 1988 Turbo S, or the S-spec 1989 Turbo. I’ve written many times about how these are performance bargains, much as they were back in the day when they were new. However, if you’ve been watching the trend, these turbos have certainly been on the uptick over the recent few years, following cars like the E30, 911, Quattro, M5 and M6 upwards. Today’s example is one of the more desirable 88 Turbo S cars; presented in Maraschino Red Metallic, it’s in stunning original condition with very low miles: