Last week I checked out a really cool short wheel base right hand drive G500 in the UK and explained that you can basically have a G-Wagen any way you want it. Well, today’s G is another way get your kicks and if you haven’t noticed, this one is quite a bit longer than the last G I checked out. This is a 2005 G55 AMG that has been stretched and of course, updated with the G63 bumpers, wheels and badges that seems to be all the rage now. The stretching sadly wasn’t a factory job and because of that I’m going to stop short of calling it a true Pullman and instead go with the more tradition term of limousine. Although this stretching job looks really well done, I do have a couple of questions and one big red flag.
German Cars For Sale Blog Posts
The gulf between North American and European market performance was wide in all manufactures in the 1980s, but no where did it feel more vast than with the Audi products. That was especially true with the turbocharged variants of the large chassis. In European guise, the Type 200 5T developed 170 horsepower even without an intercooler, while the U.S. 5000 Turbo managed only 130 from the 2.1 liter inline-5. That was a 24% drop in performance, and it didn’t get much better with the Type 44 replacement. Though displacement later grew to 2.2 liters in the MC1 and 2 codes, power output never exceeded 162 horsepower. That meant that the 1987 Audi 5000CS Turbo (and the turbocharged quattro model) produced only about 81% of its European equivalent’s power output.
Despite that, the 5000 was a great sedan. It was quite, comfortable, and more modern-feeling than its contemporaries. It was also good enough for notorious BMW-friendly Car and Driver to add it to their 10-Best list – even without the trademark all-wheel drive. With weight fairly far in excess of 3,000 lbs, the luxury sedan wasn’t a rocket off the line, but on the roll it was a competent and quiet cruiser. Audi claimed the automatic-equipped Turbo model would hit 60 mph in 8.7 seconds and flat out would do 130 mph – numbers that were barely better than its normally aspirated smaller brother Coupe and 4000S front-drive models (themselves not particularly notable for being quick!). But thanks to some notoriety in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and great press (ahem – well, for a bit anyways!), these Audis sold fairly well. For example, compared to the 4000 quattro and Coupe GT models, the 5000 Turbo was traded in much greater numbers despite its high price. In 1987, Audi sold just shy of 2,000 Coupe GT models and nearly 3,000 4000CS quattros. But the Turbo? They sold 6,849 of them. Why are they so rare to see then?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 Audi 5000CS Turbo on eBay
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This car really checks a lot of the boxes for my own personal preferences. So I hope others like it just as much! This is an Arrow Blue 1982 Porsche 911SC Targa, located in New York, with black interior and 105,627 miles on it. The 911SC remains my favorite of the 911 models, not necessarily the best model but my favorite, it’s a Targa, which I love, and it has a bright blue exterior. As far as best 911SCs I’ve featured this one should run close to the Signal Yellow 911SC I featured almost exactly one year ago. I guess this is the time of year for selling my preferred beautiful 911s!
CLICK FOR DETAILS: Arrow Blue 1982 Porsche 911SC Targa at Grand Prix Cafe
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I’ll say straightaway that I have a couple questions about this 1993 Porsche 911 RS America. I also think it’s priced a good bit too high, though that’s a problem with a lot of RS Americas we see come up for sale. We’ll get to those questions though. First, the good stuff.
As you can probably see this one has received a full wrap in Martini Racing livery. If you were to imagine what a 964 wearing such livery at the track would look like this is probably it. And it looks great! The Martini striping really works well over the curves of the rear quarters. I’d want to remove the stickers for the dealer, but otherwise I think this conveys its intent well. This RS America also is one of the low-option examples. There were only four options available (A/C, sunroof, radio, and limited-slip differential) so none of them have lots of options, but still for a car that’s supposed to be stripped down a lot of them seem to have those things added back. This one clearly does not have the radio or sunroof. We don’t get a clear look at the option sticker and the ad leaves us blind, but I think the only option chosen was the LSD. For those in search of the sportiest RSA out there this one checks those boxes.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1993 Porsche 911 RS America on eBay
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The M635CSi somehow gets lost among the other greats of the period from BMW. Perhaps, for U.S. fans, it’s the nomenclature that’s confusing. After all, there was a M1, an M3, and a M5, but when it came to the M version of the E24, BMW stuck with the moniker M635CSi in all markets but the United States and Japan. Confounding that decision was the launch of the E28 M535i. Like the M635CSi, it had additional body pieces, special interior trim and wheels from M-Technic. But while the M535i had a fairly normal M30 under the hood, the E24 received the full-fat M88/3 that was shared with the M5. Like the European M5 production started in 1984, well before they were available to U.S. customers. But while the M5 only sold in very sparse numbers over its short production cycle (about 775 sold in Europe between 1984 and 1987), the M635i was a relative hit, with just over 3,900 selling overall – far more than made it the U.S. market. Additionally, the European models were a slightly more pure form of the design; smaller bumpers, less weight, and about 30 more horsepower on tap without catalyst.
These European spec models were offered with some color combinations and interiors that never came to the U.S. market. A great example of the combination of these factors is today’s 1986 right hand drive model in the striking “Akaziengrün” – Acacia Green Metallic: