We’ve featured a few Tintop Syncros here before, and they present an interesting alternative to the more commonly seen (and voraciously desired) Syncro Westy. They lack the pop-top and its attendant hipness, height advantages, and sleeping space, but cut a slick line accentuating the box-on-wheels. The Syncro helps this out, lifting it up like the control cabin of an AT-AT in The Empire Strikes Back. Everything looks to be in order on this 95k-mile example, especially with new wheels, bumpers, and awning. It may be the 7-seat arrangement, making camper conversion a little more involved, but it could also serve as the coolest mountain shuttle out there.
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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.Tag: 1987
It is getting increasingly difficult to find reasonable values on the air-cooled 911 market and in some cases that requires we stretch our meaning of the term reasonable. Many would probably say we are long past the time when reasonable value could be found. When viewed strictly from a straight line performance standpoint there is some truth to that, but driving always has been about more than horsepower so I think we can still find options that connect and exhilarate. For many the appeal of open-top motoring only enhances the joy of driving so even though much of the country is rapidly slipping into the winter months we should still give a good Cabriolet our due consideration. I don’t know whether this one will end up as a reasonable value; at its current bidding it certainly qualifies as one, but as we saw last week asking prices have begun to get a little crazy for the 3.2 Carrera. But the mileage here isn’t ultra low so perhaps everything will come together nicely for what looks to be a good example of an early 911 Cabriolet. Here we have a Grand Prix White 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet, located in Michigan, with Burgundy interior and around 75K miles on it.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet on eBay
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Time for another Honorable Mention Roundup of the cars we just didn’t have a chance to get to this week. In addition to a few reader submissions in this edition, I found a few affordable performance options that caught my eye. Which is the one we should have spent more time on?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2004 Audi TT 3.2 quattro at Coventry Motorcar
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I tend to think of Mercedes-Benz’s W123 and W124 as stately, comfortable luxobarges that will run forever but aren’t particularly special. Looking into this 300TD Turbo, those assumptions seem needlessly oversimplified. Did you know that when it came out, the W124 wagon had the lowest drag coefficient of any production car at the time? Neither did I. It also had the 80s double-edged sword of self-leveling suspension, notoriously present in the E28 M5 but almost always replaced in that application. It sounds like the Mercedes version is a little more stout, and this car’s SLS is functioning with zero leaks.
A slippery shell and Benz’s storied 3.0-liter turbodiesel (an engine that could easily outlive a human) combine for decent fuel economy, while the longroof provides great storage and – surprise! – two more seats. Video of two police dumbfounded by a Tesla’s rear-facing trunk seats recently went viral, but these awesome jump seats were popularized in the 80s by Volvo and Mercedes after being a phenomenon in 60s American wagons. The best part of the Benz’s sixth and seventh seats is they fold flat into the floor, giving leg room for the seats or a normal wagon floor when stowed. No SUV or awkward crossover necessary! With 122k miles and all electrical bits working (for now), this is a classy family-style ride. Paul featured this car back in August of this year when it sold for $12,500. Let’s see where this eighties estate winds up this time around.
Click for details: 1987 Mercedes-Benz 300TD on eBay
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This is my second potentially “market setting” 3.2 Carrera and this one, as should be immediately clear from the specifics of the car and the asking price, epitomizes that term. Here we have a Venetian Blue Metallic 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe with a special order light grey interior and a mere 8,900 miles on it. And all of this loveliness could be yours for just $157,500. How did we get here? I’m not really sure and I have no idea where we go from here (though I’d be shocked if things went up). The car itself: it’s a nice combination and the condition looks good, though this is a color that is done a disservice being photographed indoors. It needs to be in the sunlight where that Venetian Blue exterior can show off its vibrancy and where the lightness of the interior makes a lot more sense. It is otherwise a fairly standard 3.2 Carrera that I presume has spent its life in a garage. Like in most such cases that is too bad as this 911 hasn’t been truly enjoyed, but we are used to such things around here. My curiosity is piqued by the asking price and along with yesterday’s Targa these aren’t entirely outliers. I’ve seen others with very high price tags and at least this one, though it is by far the highest price tag I have seen, has a collection of attributes that combined can warrant a significant premium. Something is going on with the market for these Carreras and we need to see where it settles.
