Press "Enter" to skip to content

Category: Tuner Tuesday

This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.

Tuner Tuesday: 1991 Alpina RLE

Tuner Tuesday: 1991 Alpina RLE

Published May 17, 2016 by Carter

From an extremely rare set of custom Corrados this morning, our journey on this Tuner Tuesday ends with a lovely Alpina RLE. Compared to the Magnums, the Roadster Limited Edition is positively plentiful with 66 official examples produced. However, compare that number to the 555 V8 Roadsters the company later produced, and the exclusivity of the RLE starts to come into clearer focus. As Alpinas go, the transformation of the Z1 was not as radical as some. Light revisions to the suspension were met with an uncharacteristically small but notable increase in displacement, giving the RLE some more sport to match its looks. But looks were what it was all about, as even in 1991 a 7.1 second 0-60 run wasn’t much of a headline. Those looks were blockbuster, though – the 17″ wheels filling out the diminutive wedge design perfectly and matched well by the classic Alpina stripes. Special interior details also dressed up the plastic-heavy Z1, and the result was impressive even if the performance wasn’t. So special and limited were these roadsters, Alpina even took the time to individually number the crests on the centercaps of the wheels!

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 Alpina RLE at Coy’s

Read Our PostTuner Tuesday: 1991 Alpina RLE
Comments closed
Tuner Tuesday: 1991 Mercedes-Benz 300E AMG 3.4E

Tuner Tuesday: 1991 Mercedes-Benz 300E AMG 3.4E

Published May 10, 2016 by Carter

So much attention is levied upon the V8 and widebody models AMG produced in the late 1980s and early 1990s that it’s easy to overlook the “lesser” examples from Affalterbach. One such model is the 3.4E, based on the W124 chassis and available in sedan, coupe or wagon versions the M104 was beefed up in typical AMG fashion. Displacing 3.4 liters (clever naming scheme, that!) and producing nearly 270 horsepower it was certainly no slouch. However, its relative obscurity and lower power output means it plays second (or third) fiddle to the 6.0 V8 models and even Mercedes-Benz’s own 500E. While those cars put out substantially more power and raise more eyebrows than the inline-6 will at any German car meetup, the 3.4E is nevertheless a potent package that offers enthusiasts a taste of classic AMG performance on a more reasonable budget:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 Mercedes-Benz 300E AMG 3.4E on eBay

Read Our PostTuner Tuesday: 1991 Mercedes-Benz 300E AMG 3.4E
Comments closed
Tuner Tuesday: 1989 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL AMG 6.0

Tuner Tuesday: 1989 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL AMG 6.0

Published May 3, 2016 by Carter

Few German cars generate more enthusiasm than the amount of collective goosebumps crowds feel when the words “pre-merger” and “AMG” come together with two numbers and a period – “6.0”. The tower of power V8 Affalterbach shoved into nearly every Mercedes-Benz it could get its hands on is legendary no matter what chassis it is seen in. Over the past few months I’ve looked at quite a few, from the big daddy 300CE Widebody and 560SEC Widebody models that everyone associates with the M117/9 to the more obscure, such as the later R129 500SL 6.0. Another seldom seen is the sedan version of the W126, with only 50 produced. I looked at one back in 2014 and it was a heck of a deal by AMG standards; an asking price of around $30,000 made it one ridiculous bargain in the 6.0 world. With even more black on this example in only 25,000 miles covered, what does the white hot AMG market look like today?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL AMG 6.0 on eBay

Read Our PostTuner Tuesday: 1989 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL AMG 6.0
2 Comments
Tuner Tuesday: 1983 Alpina C1 2.3

Tuner Tuesday: 1983 Alpina C1 2.3

Published April 26, 2016 by Carter

The E21 generally remains the affordable classic in the 1970s to 1980s BMW range, being undervalued when compared to many of the E10s and E30s. It has all the right ingredients for the BMW faithful, too – especially in little six European trim. The 323i looked like a scaled down 6-series and it effectively was, but that doesn’t make it in any way unattractive. Alpina, too, had their had in this model, producing no less than seven variants in a short run. The most popular is the bad boy B6 2.8, but there was a lesser known M20 powered C1 2.3, too. With 170 horsepower and all the right Alpina details, it’s begging for the attention that it deserves:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1983 Alpina C1 2.3 on eBay

Read Our PostTuner Tuesday: 1983 Alpina C1 2.3
10 Comments
Tuner Tuesday “What Not To Wear” Porsche Faceoff – 1977 911 Turbo Cabriolet v. 1994 Strosek 911 Turbo S Widebody Speedster

Tuner Tuesday “What Not To Wear” Porsche Faceoff – 1977 911 Turbo Cabriolet v. 1994 Strosek 911 Turbo S Widebody Speedster

Published April 19, 2016 by Carter

Here’s something a little different for Tuner Tuesday! Last July and September respectively I wrote up two terribly expensive and terribly tuned 911 convertibles. The first was a Strosek 911 Turbo S Speedster back in July, and the second was a 1977 911 Targa that was converted into a 993-bodied turbo cabriolet that was simply marvelous if you believed the interior. In a not particularly surprising development, both are back up for sale having had no takers the first time around. The question I pose to our readers is which is a better (or worse?) deal? I’ve put my original posts below starting with the 1977 and I wasn’t particularly complimentary to either, but let me know in the comments which is really “what not to wear”?

The below post originally appeared on our site September 1, 2015:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet…ish on eBay

Read Our PostTuner Tuesday “What Not To Wear” Porsche Faceoff – 1977 911 Turbo Cabriolet v. 1994 Strosek 911 Turbo S Widebody Speedster
4 Comments