Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Okay, if the Brabus-off from earlier was a bit…well, odd, I have another pairing that’s a bit unusual too; though, to be fair, only 50% of this duo is really unusual. I’m guessing it won’t take much much imagination to guess which of these cars is the odd man out. Today we have a Hartge modified 323icamino, and to compare in the unusual tuner world, a Japan-only model of the E30 built by Alpina – the B6 2.7. Let’s start with the RanchE30o:
Perhaps it was reasonable planning that Mercedes-Benz would only offer the R107 SL in the US market with a V8. After all, production of this vehicle spanned a period where horsepower was down due to increasing emissions regulations. Thus, for almost 20 years, customers stateside were deprived of a six-cylinder SL. However, for 1986, a storied moniker reappeared: 300SL. This version of the R107 had the M103 single overhead cam inline-6 that we saw in numerous E and S-class models in the US. Weighing less than the 5.6 liter V8 had its advantages and proved to be a great pairing for this roadster. We’ve seen a good amount of 300SLs make their way stateside now that all of them produced are over 25 years old. This example for sale in California has lived much of its life here, being imported at a time when entry of gray market vehicles wasn’t as stringently regulated.
With two exceptions, to me the 7-series has always been a bit of an awkward sell. The E32 and E38 being the outsiders, for the most part the translation of BMW’s sporting tradition to a large sedan format hasn’t always been a beautiful marriage. Newer models seem large and ungainly, ponderous rolling technological showrooms. I’m sure they’re impressive in their own ways, but since the introduction of the S8, Audi has always done the large sports sedan better and the AMG models have been nuttier than anything BMW offered. But back in the 1980s, the E23 was the large sedan out of place. Looking like a stretched E12 after one too many trips to the buffet, the E23 competed against the technologically advanced Audi 5000 Turbo quattro and the more luxury oriented standby W126 Mercedes-Benz lineup. And while it wasn’t about to get all nerdy to compete with the C3 Audis, BMW did attempt to sway the Mercedes-Benz faithful with upscale versions of the E23 and E24 – the L7 and L6 – to compete against the SEL and SEC. They sported mostly cosmetic upgrades and one heck of a leather-wrap job inside:
I remarked in an earlier post on the 993TT that the 930, especially the early 3.0 liter examples, remains my favorite of the 911 Turbos. As pretty as the 993 design might be, there is a way in which that beauty goes against the audacity of the 911 Turbo itself. It lacks some of the aggression of the original and for that the original will always remain my favorite. To be fair, there is likely a large degree of nostalgia at work here as the 930 was the Turbo of my childhood and as such will always have a stronger hold on my psyche than other models. So when I came across this one, a Meteor Metallic 1986 Porsche 930 Coupe, located in New Jersey, I figured I had to feature it. 1986 was the first year the 930 returned to the US market and for that we can all be thankful. This particular example shows very reasonable mileage at 50,489 and has a fantastic Burgundy leather interior.
One thing I truly appreciate about my wife is that she not only listens to my interests, but provides unique insight into them as well. Not that long ago, I was talking to her about the whole E30 and 911 craze, saying how insane prices were getting. She immediately stated something to the effect that if someone walked up to me and offered me $20,000 for my Coupe GT, I had better sell it. In part, I’m torn; I’ve logged countless hours driving the GT, and have so much blood, sweat and swears in the car I’m not sure you can put a dollar value on it. I love how the car looks, how it performs, the sounds it makes and the way it stands out from the crowd. But then there’s the moment of pause – seriously, what if someone told me suddenly that my car was worth (to me) a large amount of money? Would I keep it? Would I gamble that it would continue to increase or that the market would pop? While the dollar figure varies greatly for the E30 M3 market, I imagine it’s a similar thought that is going through many E30 owner’s minds – when is the right time to sell?
