The other day, Carter wrote up a gray-market, Signal Red 280SE. The Euro options and unusual color made for an attractive proposition, but that particular car had some mechanical needs making it a light project. This car, on the other hand, appears to be in need of no such work. Available in Europe but not sold in the US, the 280SE paired the 2.8 liter, six cylinder M110 gasoline engine with the short wheelbase version of the W126 chassis. While that might seem a small motor for such a large car, it made about 185 hp in Euro guise, a perfectly adequate, though certainly not blistering, amount of power. Like the US-spec 300SE/SEL, it might need a bit of shove at the low end, but once up to highway speeds it should cruise around capably.
German Cars For Sale Blog Posts
So much attention has been levied upon the BMW M Coupe that it’s easy to forget there was a non-M version of the E36/8. Equipped with the grunty, 190 horsepower dual-VANOS 24 valve M52/TU in front, a manual gearbox in the middle, and a standard sport differential in the rear, the Z3 Coupe offered high fun factor that wasn’t really present at the original launch of the model. The M52/TU lightened the load as well, swapping the M50 iron block for an aluminum one also seen in the contemporary E46 model. That was coupled with the dynamic shape of the “Clownshoe”; polarizing in looks, but hardly forgettable no matter your opinion. These have become niche cars that buck the traditional SUV-laden commute, yet are reasonably affordable and eminently practical as a daily driver:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2000 BMW Z3 Coupe on eBay
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7/3/1017 Edit: This car has reappeared with a few more miles and a new seller at $9,500 HERE!
I think I’ve made my gripes with the used Volkswagen market abundantly clear in prior posts. Fuzzy photos, “feelers”, lack of information, failure to wash the car, only posting photos of the car in a carwash covered in foam, junk-strewn interiors, massive miles and broken odometers, poorly executed swaps, maintenance skipped in favor of dubious modifications. We’ve seen it all on these pages; well, a “no thank you” helping sample of “it all”. But once in a while a Volkswagen comes along that really debunks the stereotype of typical VW owners. Today’s GTI VR6 is one of those myth busters:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1996 Volkswagen GTI VR6 on eBay
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I wasn’t 100% sure I wanted to feature this 911 Turbo when I first came across it, but there’s enough to draw me in that I figured others may want a look as well. My hesitation is that we really don’t have much to go by to assess the car and, given that we’re not exactly dealing with a low stress family cruiser, uncertainty is far from desirable. But such is the world of modifications and eBay hunting. This 2002 Porsche 911 Turbo, showcasing a beautiful Cobalt Blue exterior, is now far from its stock configuration, as most notably it now delivers all of its power to only the rear wheels. We’re also told there’s much more and factory upgrades, but what those are isn’t terribly clear. My hunch is that they’re not of much significance. Of interest to me is the rear-wheel drive conversion anyway and while even that aspect resides in some mystery here it’s straightforward enough to figure out and (hopefully) the other details can be worked out through a phone call. Any 911 Turbo is going to provide spirited and attention grabbing driving; with this much rear wheel power drivers must really maintain their focus.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 Porsche 911 Turbo RWD Conversion on eBay
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In an article I penned for The Truth About Cars last week, I covered some of the development of the Wedge Era and how those spectacular show car designs channeled their design language down to more pedestrian models. One of the stars of that article were the cutting-edge looks from Giugiaro’s ItalDesign – the firm, and man, responsible for some of your favorites such as the basic shape for the Audi Quattro. But while the Quattro launched its brand into the luxury realm and redefined the 80s, the undisputed German star of the wedgey wonders was the BMW M1.
Like the Quattro, the M1 redefined and refined BMW’s core mission, helping to launch the Motorsport division along with the 3.0 CSL and 2002 Turbo. While Giugiaro had also had his hand in the M1’s design, the genesis of the shape lay in the much earlier Paul Bracq designed Turbo concept. Bracq, in turn, had undoubtedly been influenced by the late 1960s creations of both Giorgetto Giugiaro (at Ghia and ItalDesign) and Marcello Gandini (Bertone), as well as the efforts and splash rival Mercedes-Benz had made in 1969 with the C111 concept and record setter.
But while Daimler was hesitant to enter serial production with such a departure from their tried and true sedan designs, the M1 proved to be just the spark BMW was looking for to ignite the fire in driving enthusiast’s minds. It was, at the time, the Ultimate Driving Machine: