My late-70s VW knowledge and interest usually circulate the Rabbit and the Vanagon, but today we have an impressively-kept example of the first water-cooled VW sold in the US – the Dasher. It may not be much of a prancer, but if you’re into brown 35 year old, 35mpg everymans cars with hubcaps, today is your day. It’s only covered 49k miles in those 35 years, leaving it crisp and clean inside and out.
Tag: 1979
It’s hard to believe it’s been over two years since Paul last wrote up a 450SLC 5.0, a homologation special intended to get a big motor into a lighter SLC to make it competitive in World Rally Championship. Remember, this is the pre-Quattro days, so a heavier rear driver wasn’t such a crazy proposition. It was aided by a fair amount of aluminum, too – the engine, doors, hood and trunk all were switched to aluminum. In the case of the hood – long enough to land a small aircraft on – that change made a difference. They didn’t sell like hotcakes though, and few remain today; they’re rare sights for sure, and it’s a treat to get two at the same time. Let’s start with the 1980:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1980 Mercedes-Benz 450SLC 5.0 on Carandclassic.co.uk
1 CommentAmidst all of the wild excess of the Slantnose, which we’ve featured extensively of late, remains the heart of the beast: the Porsche 930. No matter how often we profile much more rare variants the original car invariably draws us back and we remember why many of those variants sprouted up in the first place. The 930 was a great car that combined style and performance and while the standard car is not as wild looking as the Slantnose it’s not exactly a Beige Camry either. The widened rear arches and that massive spoiler will stand out at any car show and the dynamic capabilities of the car still require a diligent driver. The particular example featured here is a RoW 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo located in Indiana with 51,561 miles.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo on eBay
5 CommentsIt’s been a while since we saw Paul’s near perfect Silver Euro 450SEL 6.9 during V8 week last fall. These super-sedans established a trend Mercedes-Benz continues today; stuffing the largest V8 they can find into the largest sedan they can build. For many, it’s a winning combination – while the 6.9 was no slalom-assassin, there was simply nothing else that came close to this combination in the 1970s. Remember, this was the time period where the fastest Audi had around 113 horsepower in Europe. Then there was BMW, producing the 733 which made the Audi look downright slow but was still nearly 100hp shy of the Mercedes. But 1979 signaled the end of an era and the start of a new one, with two turbocharged sedans introduced signaling the future: Audi would release the 200 5T Turbo and BMW the 745i Turbo, and while both still couldn’t come close to the power output of the 6.9 they were much more efficient, modern motors. It wasn’t just the era of the giant motor that was on its way out, either, as the aging W116 was also on the verge of being retired in favor of the newer and more stylish W126 – a car that subsequently has become such a legend even in its own time. It’s easy therefore to discount the importance and significance of a car like the 6.9, but what it did was show us what would happen when engineers dared to let their hair down. Today there’s a lower mile example on Ebay:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1979 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 on eBay
2 CommentsIs there any car more revered in the last half century than the Mercedes-Benz W123? Amongst the Mercedes faithful, this model stands head and shoulders above them all in terms of durability and timelessness. It is also known as quite the gas miser, with plenty of biodiesel conversions out there on the roads. Let’s take a look at three very different W123 models, beginning with this early 1977 300D sedan for sale in Florida.