As the supply dwindles, I’ve been spending time looking at various clean, mostly original E30s. Today, however, we have a 1991 325i that has received the business under the hood, namely an S52 swap from an E36 M3 plus an Active Autowerk supercharger. That heady combination puts out 357 horsepower at the wheels and 411bhp at the crank, plenty to make this 2800-pound coupe punch well above its weight class. The mechanical build is too plentiful and thorough to fully recount here, but it has Raceland coilovers, Stoptech brakes, and just about all the bushings, mounts, and miscellaneous performance parts you can stuff under an E30 to help handle 250% of its original power. The interior looks ready to rumble too with black suede Recaros and NRG wheel and some other subtle racy bits, but this car is about go, not show. The exterior has a little clear coat peel and dents but the deeper front lip and M3-esque Zender spoiler should distract any passerby. It all adds up to a package that looks pretty standard-modded-E30 good but will smoke just about any non-exotic on the road.
German Cars For Sale Blog Posts
Many will correctly credit cars like the Boxster and Cayenne for giving us the solvency of Porsche and the more exotic models we love to look at daily. But back up to the 1980s, and while SUVs were popular unless you bought a Geländewagen your 4-wheel drive truck wasn’t coming from the Vaterland. The 1980s were just seeing the reemergence of the convertible, too, and the popular roadster concepts from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche were still a decade off (excusing the Z1, that is…). So how did Porsche manage to survive the 1980s? Well, they had some star power with the 928 and the 911 and 911 Turbo models were still popular, even if at the time everyone admitted they felt pretty ancient compared to the competition or even Porsche’s own lineup. No, what made Porsche successful in the 1980s was the 944. It’s hard to conceptualize how relatively successful it was, but especially considering the relatively high entry price and exclusivity of Porsche cars in general, it was positively a blockbuster. Porsche shifted a total of just over 113,000 944 models between 1982 and 1989, and nearly exactly half of them sold here in the United States. Today it’s not unusual to find a 944 still kicking around as a daily driver; solid build quality, reasonable fuel economy and relatively inexpensive repairs thanks to the more pedestrian inline-4 means that quite a few are still living today. Let’s also not forget that these were expensive and treasured items for many. Even so, few examples turn up for sale today in anywhere near the shape of this 1987 example at Sun Valley Autos:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 Porsche 944 at Sun Valley Autos
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Every time we feature a Saab or Volvo on GCFSB, the chorus of “that’s not a German car” makes itself heard. We know. We’re aware. I’m always on the hunt to find the unexpected and interesting feature and this 1991 Saab 900 SPG fits the bill. These Swedish machines have a lot traits in common with their German counterparts, such as luxury, durability and safety. This would be the final year for the SPG in the US market, finishing with just over 7,600 examples sold since its introduction in 1985. These cars were sold at a time when the BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 were in showrooms, along with a variety of other machines which were using turbocharging similar to this Saab (see the Buick GNX, Merkur XR4Ti and Ford Mustang SVO). The Saab was a car for those who did things a bit differently. A thinker’s sports car, if you will. If you’ve been wanting to relive a bit of nostalgia from this defunct brand, here’s your chance.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 Saab 900 SPG on eBay
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Some cars just kind of smack me in the face with their beauty. Porsche’s 356 Cabriolet almost always is one of those cars. They possess a beauty that is very hard to find in modern machinery, while also showcasing the charm of a vintage automobile. The 356 Coupe calls to mind much more the shape of the 911, if a slightly overweight version (though it’s not overweight at all). They have a somewhat bulbous look. However, chop the top and suddenly the 356 is transformed into a lithe and elegant automobile that promises to treat you to the best of open-top cruising. It’s no wonder that the 356 Speedster was so initially popular for its combination of open-top appeal with a pared-down structure best suited to weekend racers. The 356 Cabriolet brings with it the usual refinements that the Speedster did without, but we still get a fairly simple machine with graceful lines and, in this case, a beautiful and vibrant red paint. The example here comes from just toward the end of the model’s production: a 1965 Porsche 356SC Cabriolet, located in North Carolina, with a reported 63,020 miles on it.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1965 Porsche 356SC Cabriolet on eBay
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A little under a year and a half ago I took a look at one of the last vestiges of affordable classic Porsches – the “Poor Man’s” 924. This Bahama Blue Metallic example had covered a scant 39,000 miles under one claimed owner in its lifetime, but also showed a fair bit of age and had some non-original, incorrect paint work. At $6,500 in October 2014, it was too rich by my measure and it appears that I was right, as the car has re-emerged with a slightly lowered $6,000 asking price. Although the market has warmed slightly to the transaxle cars over that time, I still think this is a hard sell but it is a pretty cool alternative to similarly priced Volkswagen Rabbit or early Scirocco models.