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Tag: 1986

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1986 Mercedes-Benz 420SL

1986 Mercedes-Benz 420SL

Published June 28, 2018 by Andrew

Earlier this week I checked out a 1984 Mercedes-Benz 380SL that was in a cool European-spec setup. I don’t mean to focus too much on R107s, but one just happened to pop up that I couldn’t overlook. This is a 1986 420SL. Yes, a 420SL. If that number ‘420’ followed by ‘SL’ seems odd, you aren’t wrong in thinking that. In North American, Mercedes only sold the 350SL, 380SL, 450sSL and 560SL offically through their dealerships. Back in the 1980s, some people were bringing in the 280SL, 300SL and 500SL through grey-market channels before that was put to a stop by ironically, Mercedes themselves. For whatever reason, I can’t recall ever seeing the 420SL for sale in North America and they are even not that common in Europe. They use the same 4.2 liter M116 from the W126 420SEL and is generally thought of as ”not the 560” the same way you think of the 420SEL sedan. Either way, one popped up for sale Florida and it doesn’t look like a bad example at all.

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1986 Porsche 930 Coupe

1986 Porsche 930 Coupe

Published June 13, 2018 by Rob

As a brand Porsche is known for a lot of things: Production of sports cars that meld luxury, performance, and livability better than most any other marque. A prestigious racing history dating back more than 40 years. And, of course, their most iconic production car utilizes a physics defying rear-engine rear-wheel drive layout. I’m sure there are more. Among the long-time fans and enthusiasts Porsche also is known for its variety. For a price, customers can choose from a wide array of custom options for both the exterior and interior. Even when certain limitations are apparently placed upon such options, certain buyers still might manage to get around these in order to produce their custom Porsche. These programs have gone under the name of Sonderwunsch (Special Wishes) and Porsche Exclusive.

The most common of these options is paint to sample, which typically draws on classic colors from Porsche’s past (though the color doesn’t HAVE to be a Porsche color) made available alongside whatever standard options are produced at the time. As prices for collectible Porsches have increased it appears that the number of buyers selecting a paint-to-sample exterior also has increased. Among air-cooled 911s it is very rare to come across a paint-to-sample example; among current production they are still rare, but you will have no trouble finding one. Some of that certainly is down to recency and increased production more generally, but I think there’s more to it than that.

This 1986 Porsche 930 is not a modern Porsche so we remain in the realm of the extremely rare. It also has not stuck to only a paint-to-sample exterior.

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1986 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet

1986 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet

Published May 19, 2018 by Rob

I almost feel like I’ve taken a hiatus from classic 911s of late. So I shall return to them with this Guards Red 1986 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet, located in Massachusetts, with 46,900 miles on it. We see Guards Red pretty frequently on the 3.2 Carrera, less so on the 964, and then even less on the 993. After that? It almost seems to disappear. We do occasionally see red Porsches still today, especially as a PTS option, but it’s certainly a color that seems much less in style than it once did.

Here in the District we’ve been mired in an interminable cloud of rain with plenty of lightning and wind thrown in for good measure. It has been the sort of rain that doesn’t even allow for the barest hint of the sun’s existence. It has me dreaming of the days when blue sky and bright sunshine will return and that has me thinking about Cabriolets again. In the meantime all we can do is plan and wait and try to stay dry.

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1986 Audi Coupe GT with 28,000 Miles

1986 Audi Coupe GT with 28,000 Miles

Published May 6, 2018 by Carter

Audi’s attention to detail in 1986 was…well, poor. Contrary to the never-wrong-Internet’s common belief structure and commentary every time an 80s Audi appears on a site, this had nothing to do with the quality of the cars they built. They were, in fact, very nice cars, and they have generally withstood the test of time as well as their countrymen and better in aggregate than the majority of 1980s cars.

So what was their problem with detail work? Well, notoriously Audis from the 1980s stood a good chance of being in some unusual specification which didn’t conform to what Audi claimed was available. Let’s take this 1986 Audi Coupe GT for example. According to Audi’s literature, if you bought the Commemorative Design 2-door in 1986, you got a special electronic digital dashboard with accompanying “Audi Electronic” oil temperature/voltmeter in place of the typical VDO 3-gauge center dash readout.

Except that wasn’t the only way to get the electronic dash. Because even though it apparently wasn’t an option you could select, Audi must have had a surplus or stock in ColecoVision, because they installed a bunch of these dashboards in a random selection of 1986 and some early 1987s. I know, because I have one of them. Here’s another, and this one only has 28,000 miles:

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1986 Porsche 930 Coupe

1986 Porsche 930 Coupe

Published March 22, 2018 by Rob

As I’ve more frequently turned my attention to modern 911s, largely in an attempt to locate better performance value, I am still reminded of the 930. The 911 has become quite refined over the years. Porsche has now long been a luxury brand and it is expected that its 911 Turbo will carry on that luxury. While the 930 wasn’t exactly a no-frills 911, it also would be hard to describe as refined. It was more than capable of biting a ham-fisted driver and strictly on appearance refinement hardly would be its calling card. That path lay for Porsche’s own venture into very high dollar territory with the 959. The 930 remained a menace.

It is that quality which always brings me back to it. Modern 911 Turbos are faster and more capable performers in almost any conditions, all while being able to serve as a daily driver. In many cases on the second-hand market they’re cheaper too. So why the 930? For me it just takes one look.

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