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Category: Tuner Tuesday

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Tuner Tuesday: 1984 Volkswagen GTi Callaway Turbo with 21,000 Miles

Tuner Tuesday: 1984 Volkswagen GTi Callaway Turbo with 21,000 Miles

Published December 29, 2015 by Carter

We’ve witnessed some pretty crazy market increases over the past few years. While generally it’s been the big names from Porsche and BMW stealing headlines, the reality is that the entire 1980s market is on the rise. Hagerty, for example, recently emailed me to tell me that the 1984 Pontiac Fiero has increased in value nearly 100% in the past year. As I had nightmares about that, I thought about the many other cars that used to be bought for chips that are now heading into unaffordable territory. Two years ago, we saw the Mk.1 GTi join that list when in a few weeks we witnessed back to back record sales. First to hit the market was the nearly $18,000 1983 Callaway Turbo example with 18,000 miles,followed closely by a 1984 with some period modifications and 20,000 miles for $16,000 in December, 2013. Those were enough to assume that the market was heading strongly up. Yet we also saw it flounder slightly, as very nice and original examples struggled to break – or even come close to – $10,000 again. Well, it would seem that things are back on track, because another low mile Callaway Turbo with period Zender kit has arrived on the scene, and it’s currently poised to blow the market apart once again:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Volkswagen GTi Callaway Turbo on eBay

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Tuner Tuesday: 1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6 – REVISIT

Tuner Tuesday: 1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6 – REVISIT

Published December 22, 2015 by Carter

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The ex-Vlad 1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6 with plenty of modifications that we wrote up nearly two years ago has resurfaced for sale again. Offered by the buyer from last time around after covering only 3,000 miles, the asking price is close to what the seller paid. However, a few things of note – several items are no longer working, the bodywork is cracked and – most notably – the BBS RS wheels are an optional extra for $3,000. Has the W201 market appreciated 50% on a questionable example like this in a year and a half?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6 on eBay

The below post originally appeared on our site in April, 2014:

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Tuner Tuesday: 1991 Koenig C62

Tuner Tuesday: 1991 Koenig C62

Published December 8, 2015 by Carter

As a young man, I spent countless hours dreaming of blasting down the Mulsanne in a Rothman’s 962 Group C car chasing Hans Stuck. But I was not alone; the dream of driving the legendary and most successful Group C car was that of many across the world. Some of those who dreamed had the means to make it happen, too – and in one of the strangest prototype twists I think ever, multiple road going versions of the 962 saw the light of day from different tuner companies. There was the DP Motorsports version – effectively, just a race-going 962 with some tread on the tires. There was the “Derek Bell Signature Edition 962, too – which looked the part but built on chassis numbers alone with a GT2 motor. Then there was the ex-Porsche racer Vern Schuppan’s version called the 962CR. The most radical, it looked like a 962 had spent a drunken night with a 959. There was also the very interesting tale of the Dauer 962 – ironically, turned into a road car so that it could exploit a loophole in the rule book to be turned back into a race-winning car at Le Mans. Indeed, for several years during the supercar boom in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it seemed that a new version of a road going 962 came out every few months. But the first of all of these was from reviled tuner Koenig Specials, who in a departure from their typical formula of “just add Testarossa slats everywhere” introduced a thinny veiled race car for the road:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 Koenig C62 on GooNet Exchange

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Tuner Tuesday: 1997 Audi A6 Avant S6 Plus Conversion

Tuner Tuesday: 1997 Audi A6 Avant S6 Plus Conversion

Published December 1, 2015 by Carter

We all have dreams. In automotive terms, I can remember many cars that I’ve spent countless hours modifying in my head. “No one will be expecting this!” I’d laugh to myself, ignoring the sensibility of my plan. Hurdles such as the cost, the time invested, or even if the end result would be worth the hours spent not only planning but executing the plan were cleared as if I was Edwin Moses on route to another Olympic Gold. Indeed, I’d already be crowning myself champion of the mods as I slowly turned the image of a complete dream in my head at night, during breakfast, while walking or at work, and especially when driving. But then the realities of life set in, and the dreams so carefully laid out by many are dashed on the rocky shores of life. The plan wasn’t economically viable or even possible, the car was too rusty or too far gone, the parts were too hard to source, or as is often the case, priorities changed and something newer and flashier came along. For every 1,000 cars dreamed to completion, my bet is that fewer than five make it to the light of day. When I had my V8 quattro, I was going to restore that and make it a manual. I truly loved that car, but the realities of owning it were too hard to continue on. Then I had my 200 Avant, and I was going to combine the bits from the V8 quattro and make a monster V8 Avant. That, too, was left on the planning board.

All of this is what makes such creations as this car so special. Who would look at an A6 Avant and think “I’m going to turn this car into a S6 Plus Avant”? Maybe one person would have that thought – but it only takes one. The result of what was undoubtedly one of the least likely builds has resulted in one of the most desirable Avants I’ve seen stateside:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Audi A6 Avant S6 Plus Conversion on quattroworld.com

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Tuner Tuesday: 1994 Alpina B12 5.7 Coupe

Tuner Tuesday: 1994 Alpina B12 5.7 Coupe

Published November 24, 2015 by Carter

Almost exactly a month ago, I took a look at “The One” – the single yellow Alpina B12 5.7 produced. With little information and a staggering price, it was hard to conceptualize how it would reasonably trade hands. But if that was the package you exactly desired, that was about as good as it got. Alpina produced only 57 of the 5.7 Coupes, after all. About half of those produced were opted with an early form of semi-automatic transmission. Dubbed the “Shift-Tronic”, Alpina offered this electronically controlled clutch as an option only of the 5.7 models, and a reported 32 were so equipped. Though not so wildly optioned with color, today’s 5.7 is claimed to be number 30 of the run:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1994 Alpina B12 5.7 Coupe on Classic Driver

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