Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.
This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.
This one is just for a bit of fun because I’m not sure the asking price here really makes too much sense, even if it is apparent that a ton of work went into bringing life back into this 911. But who knows? Maybe there’s a buyer out there looking for exactly this type of replica and would prefer the finished product rather than putting the work in himself. It only takes one such buyer. This was originally a 1983 Porsche 911SC Coupe that was in pretty rough shape and in need of full restoration. The seller has included a few “before” pictures and we see a 911 suffering from serious neglect. Rather than return the car to its original specifications, which probably would not have been worthwhile strictly from a financial standpoint, it was decided that a tribute car would be built instead. In this case, the build was modeled off of the Porsche 954 rally car carrying the Rothmans livery. These were designated as an SC/RS and were purpose-built racers intended to run in the FIA World Rally Championship. Like any part of Porsche’s racing history the original cars are highly coveted. For comparison with the price here, there was a 1984 SC/RS Rothmans, said to be the most original remaining example extant and with a distinguished racing history, up for auction at Gooding and Company’s Pebble Beach Auctions back in August. It didn’t sell (and I can’t recall where bidding ended), but Gooding’s low-end estimate was a cool $1.4M. Maybe the price here isn’t so bad after all!
Powered by the legendary five cylinder OM617, the sort of motor for which Mercedes-Benz earned their reputation as manufacturers of “million mile engines,” the W126 300SD was a classy and reliable ride, offering a frugal option for S-class owners not perturbed by a clackety-clack sound coming from the front end of their luxury car. This engine would be replaced in 1985 by the OM603 six cylinder unit (later enlarged to 3.5 liters) that, while offering more power, was susceptible to a number of very serious problems (a fault with the trap oxidizer – part of the emissions system – that could ruin the turbo, cylinder heads prone to overheating and cracking, bent rods and head gasket failures). So those looking for a diesel W126 would do well to consider an early, first generation car like this one.
“Pre-merger” AMG cars date from the period when the company was not yet officially part of Mercedes-Benz and instead existed as an independent tuner (it would be folded into the MB family in the early to mid 1990s). Back then, customers could upgrade their cars with AMG parts by choosing from a menu of cosmetic and mechanical upgrades and having them shipped from the production line to Affalterbach for modification (or, if they were in the US, having those parts installed by a locally authorized dealer, like the storied Beverly Hills Motoring Accessories). Early period AMG cars that show up for sale today offer a neat slice of the exotic 80s tuner world, but they present a number of difficulties when it comes to authentication. This gray market, seemingly AMG modified 500SE is a good case in point.
The one-year only Guards Red 1983 Porsche 911SC Cabriolet we featured in late September remains up for a reserve auction. It’s consistently received a bid or two on these auctions right around $50K and now sits with a BIN price that is a little lower than when we first featured it. It’s still a lot of money for a 911SC, but given the low mileage and that these were the first year Porsche produced a Cabriolet for the 911 perhaps it may finally see a sale.
The below post originally appeared on our site September 27, 2016:
This almost seems sacrilegious to say, but I’ve found myself frequently attracted to some silver 911s lately. Not all of them, but a few have crossed my path and I have really enjoyed their look. The only caveat is that the attraction seems limited to classic 911s as there hasn’t been much from the 964 and later that has caught my eye in silver. The car we see here is one of those that’s attracted my gaze: a Pewter Metallic 1983 Porsche 911SC Targa, located in California, with 51,641 miles on it. Properly speaking this isn’t silver so perhaps I could rationalize it that way. But it’s close enough! Anyway, it is the details of this 911SC that make it even better. It appears to be very well documented and cared for throughout its life and the seller has provided ample description and abundant photos to address most issues buyers may have. I wish more cars were sold this way.
