Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Did someone say fast 5-doors? Amen! The bells on the Church of the Heavenly 5 Doors are ringing this Friday, and I’ve rounded up a unique quartet of very fast and very colorful wagons to consider, each around or below $10,000. We’ve got 5 turbos, 25 cylinders and 1,200 horsepower worth of people carriers here – which is the winner for you?
It is becoming increasingly difficult to find a Porsche 912 that falls into that middle stage of the market: not a pristine collector car, but not a car in need of significant work either. That’s somewhat troubling since much of the appeal of the 912 precisely is the opportunity for getting your hands on a good vintage Porsche driver, but without breaking the bank. Entry-level Porsche at entry-level pricing. But as the market for the 912 has heated up there is more incentive to restore properly those that have been neglected, which also brings out the sellers who are less interested in putting in the time for a quality restoration. Of course, this also tends to mean that owners of the middle-of-the-road cars price them too high – a rising tide raising all boats and whatnot – but ultimately a patient buyer should eventually be able to find one for a reasonable price. The example we see here, a Tangerine 1968 Porsche 912, located in Maryland, I think falls into that latter category. It looks in good running condition and worthy of being a fun weekend cruiser, but the asking price will likely need to come down. That said, excellent examples of the 912 have slipped into $50k-$60K territory so even this asking price is well under where top examples will sell.
Here’s an E28 M5 that should provide an interesting litmus test for those out there still pondering trying to find a clean, driver-quality example. We’ve seen some sub-150k mile M5s reach into the $30ks, which still seems a bit steep to me even though they were nearly perfect. This one is neither all-original nor perfect, with a redone interior and Euro headlight upgrade with Frenchy yellow lowbeams. It also shares the Billy Boat exhaust present on my car, which I enjoy but is rather loud. The leather looks very nice and overall this looks like a complete, clean M5 that would be blast to drive. The seller says he’s looking to “get around $25k” which seems a bit steep to me. Are middle-market M5s there yet?
The Porsche Boxster has been with us for nearly twenty years now and while it initially was derided as being somewhat soft Porsche gradually applied corrections and enhancements, most notably releasing the Boxster S, and at this point the Boxster makes for an excellent open-top performer. Even still the Boxster has never really been Porsche’s go to performance car. Much of that has been reserved, quite naturally, for the 911, but also for the Cayman, which debuted around half way through the Boxster’s current life. The Boxster has first and foremost been a roadster. Following along in that tradition the release of the Boxster Spyder was long overdue. The traditional roadster was meant to be a relatively simple machine. Granted, with the passage of time that formula has shifted toward higher degrees of refinement, but there remains within the ethos of any open-top two-seater that basic sense of sacrificing practicality in the name of oneness between driver, machine, and environment. In that manner, in producing the Spyder Porsche scrapped more than 100 pounds from the Boxster S through a variety of weight saving measures, most visibly through the sacrifice of the standard convertible top for what really is little more than a sun shade. Additional savings were found through aluminum doors and lighter wheels along with a host of deletions from the interior, including the use of carbon-fiber sport seats. All together we are left with one of the lightest cars in the Porsche lineup, but still with plenty of power to compliment that lighter weight. The example we see here is a Carrera White 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder, located in Texas, with Red leather interior and 10,244 miles on it.
Contrary to the waves of criticism heaped upon the E34 M5 as being less raw and special than the E28 and not as incredible-in-every-way as the E39, the second-generation super sedan has a lot going for it. The E34 didn’t deviate from BMW’s strengths – sharp lines and an inline-6 remained – but it is decidedly more modern in both looks and amenities than its predecessor. While the E34 brought the ability to purchase M5s in North America in a variety of colors, this M5 is done à la Canada with black covering the exterior and interior. Both have been redone recently, helping it look extraordinarily sharp as it approaches 200k miles. Small aesthetic modifications make for a unique package, highlighted by an Alcantara headliner inside while the 5-less ///M badge is an unfortunate choice and more readily indicates a pimped-out 525i than a hand-built special. The stock wheels (which come with the car) and chrome kidneys would be more my style, but the E39 M5 wheels look more appropriate than usual as a retrofit.
