Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
“I don’t think it is necessary to explain to those who understand.”
That’s the only description from the selling dealer for today’s car. Granted, that was translated from Japanese, but it is the general gist of it. If you know you know, if you don’t, this isn’t the car for you. The iconic W140 Mercedes-Benz S600 punched out to 7.0 liters by AMG Japan and equipped with a bunch of other little special touches. In terms of 1990s sedans, this is up there. The price? Well, if you have to ask…
The Porsche 718 Cayman GTS is one of the few new Porsche’s that launched with a thud. Everyone wanted the classic 3.4-liter flat-six, maybe even a 3.6-liter, but instead they were served up a turbocharged 2.5-liter flat-four. To make it even worse, it sounded like a Subaru WRX. Porsche owners don’t want Subaru sounds. The numbers on paper were mightily disappointing as well, given their performance in the real world was nearly identical to the 718 Cayman S. That means you paid over $12,000 more just to get the standard GTS stuff like brake-based torque vectoring, the Sport Chrono package, adaptive dampers with a lower ride height, 20-inch wheels, and sport seats that are otherwise optional on the Boxster S. In that light I suppose that was a good value? Either way, Porsche knew they screwed up so went back to the drawing board and thankfully gave us the GTS 4.0. However, that doesn’t mean the flat-four versions suddenly fell off the face of the earth.
Today, we have a 2018 up for sale in New York with the great color of Sapphire Blue Metallic and just 6,200 miles. But I hope you aren’t expecting a deal on this one.
Evolution. That word sparks joy for a whole sect of automotive enthusiasts, whether they be of the Japanese Lancer-loving type or in the 90s German realm. It was in that time that we had Evolution models delivered from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi to homolgate equipment to use in the DTM. While the M3 and 190E 2.3-16 took most of the laurels, a fair amount of DTM fans forget that it was the V8 quattro – replete with wood trim – that took the 1990 ( Hans-Joachim Stuck) and 1991 (Frank Biela) crowns before its flat-plane crankshaft was deemed illegal.
In 1991 Audi introduced an Evolution model, which sprouted adjustable front and rear spoilers. That was pretty much the only dynamic change, but these Evolution models were also equipped with 17″ Bolero wheels for good measure. A claimed 500 were produced, but good luck finding them – they are more elusive than essentially every other Audi model in the modern era. One turned up for sale in Berlin, though – and despite the DTM laurels and Evolution nameplate, they’re surprisingly affordable:
It seems like once a year I run across a rather interesting hearse that makes you ask “What do you even do with it now?” An honest question given they only serve one person, but today I have another hearse that seems to go beyond the normal setup and deep into the excess. Let’s check it out.
Back in the days the W210 Mercedes-Benz E-Class production, there was a model produced that didn’t exactly get all the headlines or fanfare, and that was the E430 Sport. For the 2000 through 2002 model years, you could option a E430 with the E55 AMG body kit. That meant much more aggressive bumpers, some cool side skirts, and circle fog lights that were unique to the E55. While all this was cool, Mercedes was smart enough not to offer the smoke taillights nor the signature 18″ AMG Monoblock wheels, as you had to settle for 17″ wheels. However, source a set of the Monoblocks, and you have a faux E55 to the untrained eye. Wouldn’t you know it, this is exactly what we have here with this 2000 up for sale in Massachusetts that has just 42,000 miles. I don’t want to spoil the party early, but this one might have some issues.
