Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Yesterday on our Facebook fanpage I posted a 1972 BMW 2002 track car with Zender flares and an S14 swap; while not original, it sure looked neat. Today’s car isn’t original either, but is built in the style of the Alpina racers and if anything looks even better to me as a result. Looking splendid in red over those classic turbine wheels, take a look at this 1972 2002:
While the Audi 100 Avant I wrote up the other day was certainly a treat to see, for most late 1980s and early 1990s Audi enthusiasts, the cars that they’re interested in are the quattro all-wheel drive models. There are certainly many popular ones to choose from; recently we’ve seen the 4000 quattro and S4 quattro really take off, but the 200 20V quattro and Coupe quattro also grace these pages on a regular basis. One car we don’t see much of, though, is the 90 20V quattro; effectively the same car as the Coupe underneath, these 90s were rare when new and are more rare today. Featuring the awesome 7A 20 valve 2.3 motor and the legendary quattro drive system, unlike the earlier 4000s they were galvanized, meaning at least some could survive life in the environment which they were designed to conquer:
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:
We’ve been sitting here at GCFSB in half wonder and half horror, watching the E30 market explode. It probably shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise; the E30 has always enjoyed a loyal following, it’s a smart looking design with an enthusiastic aftermarket, sourcing replacement parts is easy and the performance is quite good. But the days of owning the best of the bunch – the E30 M3 – have slipped through the fingers of most who didn’t jump on the bandwagon early. So what’s an enthusiast to do? Well, truth be told there are plenty of desirable options, some with some real long-term potential as collectable. One of the most affordable right now is the first generation M Roadster; offering the stellar S52 engine in a fun to drive platform, a good example can be had for well under $20,000, such as today’s low mile Dakar Yellow example: