I have a few more rare sets of wheels to check out this week to help you set your ride apart. While the Mugen wheels are really intended for Hondas, the look of this particular set of wheels would really set apart an early Volkswagen or BMW. The BBS RA Mahle wheels are much more usual to see on older BMWs, but this set looks awesome and would really suit a 2002 or E21 nicely. The MK Motorsports wheels are much newer but would be a nice addition to an E30 or Mk.2/3 Volkswagen. Melber mesh wheels are another rarity but period for the W123/W126 Mercedes-Benzs, or even an R107 SL. Then there are some great Hart 759 3-piece wheels that would really stand out on a newer Boxster, Cayman or 911. Which is your favorite?
The BMW E30 3 series has become a kind of German 1950s Chevrolet in a sense. With a thriving aftermarket scene, plenty of enthusiasts have undertaken projects to reinvent this compact executive car in their own right. From M3 clones to V8 engined barnstormers, the sky is the limit. With many of the Touring models eligible for US import, this has given enthusiasts a whole new canvas with which to work, as well. It’s not too often that we see the convertible variants breathed upon, but this particular 1990 325i Convertible from our reader Chris in Northern Virginia has had an upgrade to the M50 inline-6 from the later E36 3 series, along with suspension, steering and brake upgrades to handle the increased power.
Just the other day, Nate wrote up a resto-modded BMW 325ix. There were some nice touches and a considerable amount of work done, but also a few pretty polarizing items – the gold BBS turbofan-look replica wheels, the gold custom decals and the factory BMW sport seats that were recovered with Recaro fabric. As if to answer some of the issues with those items, a rare European-spec 1979 323i with some period modifications turned up for sale:
It seems we often list multiple cars from the same seller; in some cases, that’s simply because they have the best examples that are available. EAG and Sloan Cars are great examples of this, amongst many. However, there’s a second tier of cars that we feature – eye candy that lies abroad and would be more difficult to procure. Such is the case with dealers like 4Star in England who seemingly has an endless supply of incredible examples of cars we all want. I think, however, that we need to add “ExoticCarsJapan” to the list, since this is now the third successive Alpina and fourth BMW I’ve written up from them. However, unlike the two previous E28 5-series B9s, today’s example is quite a rare example – a 1982 C1 2.3 E21:
Yesterday Paul wrote up a rare 1990 Mercedes-Benz 560SE; for the W116 and W126, the short wheel base cars almost seem to be a bit odd. The long lines of the S-Class, especially in the case of the W126, seem normal with those long back windows. But for me, the W116 almost looks a little out of proportion in “L” guise. In part that’s helped when you delete the large bumpers that most U.S. bound examples had – in original Euro configuration, it looks much better in my mind. But drop the wheelbase to the “SE” version and the W116 just looks right to me. This ’73 example is a great case in point, with period green over green leather and Bundt alloys:
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