Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Kick back and relax now that the work week is over because I need some time to unpack everything that this 1972 Mercedes-Benz 250C is bringing today. At first glance I was excited to see a W114 coupe in awesome 860 green and to my surprise it was a four-speed manual as well. Then I started reading the description and looking at the photos to realize this car had much more than what I saw on the surface. So let’s dive into this 1972 250C located in Washington.
I don’t know that this 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Coupe is a 1 of 1, as the seller hints, but given the rare color combination and a rare option or two we’re certainly looking at a 911 whose owner isn’t likely to see another one coming the other way. The colors return us to my current fascination with purple 911s and this one, Amethyst Pearl, is one of the better options along that spectrum. It’s not as dark as Aubergine, but also not as bright, i.e. flashy, as Amaranth Violet so it walks that fine line that I think a color like purple really needs to walk. It’s beautiful and interesting. The white leather interior is sort of like a punch in the face. While I don’t normally associate white with brightness when considering the color palette, it definitely comes across that way here. I don’t know that it works, at least not for me, but the contrast is interesting and is certain to provide an avenue for discussion. We definitely can’t call it monotone!
In the UK, where I grew up, the E46 3-series was available with a Sport package from 2001 onwards. This added M-Tech suspension, an M-Tech II bodykit, sport seats, steering wheel and “M V-Spoke” Style 72 alloys (later replaced by style 135s). The revised bumpers and spoilers definitely lent the car a more aggressive, sporting edge and considerably enhanced the overall look of the car. The package, officially renamed from “Sport” to “M Sport” in 2005, proved immensely popular throughout the E46 production run. As a result, the UK used market is filled with relatively cheap examples. Not so in the US. When I moved here, I soon discovered that the American E46 did not receive the same package until 2003, and only then on the 330i/330ci models. Known here as the ZHP or “Performance Package,” this added all of the aforementioned upgrades plus redesigned camshafts and a remapped engine computer, supposedly bringing power to 235 hp (10 hp more than standard models). Ticking this option box added nearly $4,000 to the cost of the car, making ZHP-equipped models relatively uncommon. As a result, when used examples do crop up they seem to command a considerable price premium.
The Golf Harlequin is one of those strange creatures that ostensibly would look more at home in a art festival than in a car show. Volkswagen’s “Chinese fire drill” of body parts from primary colored Golfs was an interesting exercise, leading to the moniker Harlequin – a reference to the colorful and semi-psychotically eyed ducks, themselves named after a colorfully dressed character in Italian 16th century theater. Now that you’ve learned something, these Golfs have become legendary and desirable in their own right despite effectively being a base model underneath, leading to the replica color scheme not only extending to copies of the originals, but even to replicas utilizing other Volkswagen models. My local Volkswagen dealer, for example, has used the scheme not only on post-Mk.3 delivery Golfs, but even their Chevrolet Express parts vans have the mismatched tones. But today we’ll look at a replica GL which has gone to great lengths to mask itself in the colorful attire. Unlike the originals, though, this one has a serious weapons-grade revision in the drive department:
Chances are if you live in the United States, a Mercedes-Benz B200 is something you only might of seen in the background of that weird French movie that your significant other made you watch on Netflix. And chances are you only caught a glimpse because ”We aren’t stopping the movie again so you can go back and look at a car”. So what is the B200? Mercedes calls it a ”sports compact tourer”, the Euro NCAP calls it a ”small multi-purpose vehicle” and I just call it a tall, skinny, four door hatchback . This front-wheel drive 2009 B200 is powered by an engine the size of a case of beer and actually gets over 40mpg when paired to the 5-speed manual gearbox. So let’s take a look at this illegal immigrant located in New York.
