Even with automatics, I love perfect examples of old bimmers, and this 20k-mile 320i is no exception. It has lived most of its life in Japan but is thankfully still LHD. The island life has kept its use regular but minimal, resulting in the extremely low amount of miles. It’s a beautiful example of the E30 sedan and would make a great daily driver with a pay-no-mind transmission deciding how to best use the most diminutive M20, a teacup 2.0-liter inline-6. The seller is hoping for strong E30 money even though it’s a basic model, but that’s to be expected when the car has traveled roughly one American’s yearly miles over a quarter century.
Tag: 1990
A lot of the imported Volkswagen T3s are megamachines, like Syncro DoKas, Syncro Westies, and Tristars. This sweet little red van looks pretty basic without the pop-top, but actually brings a lot to the table with specs not available here in North America. It’s not quite a tin-top thanks to the power ragtop sunroof, and it’s not just a people-mover thanks to the full complement of Westfalia interior items like the sink, fridge, stove, and storage cupboards. It looks pretty stock other than a “sport suspension” and 16″ 5-spokes that help it do its best impression of a ’70s American cab-forward van. It looks great, is fully road trippable, and only has 23k miles on it; someone is going to be a happy camper at the end of this no-reserve auction.
Click for details: 1990 Volkswagen Vanagon on eBay
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Nomenclature has been something Audi fans have struggled with, but to be fair the naming scheme from Ingolstadt hasn’t always been particularly straightforward. For example, though ubiquitous as the Coupe GT, there was actually a trim and performance difference between B2 front drive Coupes and Coupe GTs. Similarly, though U.S. fans often fair to recognize it, the B3 Coupe quattro was actually the second Coupe quattro; Europeans enjoyed the option of having a non-turbocharged, non-flared version of the B2 platform which few but the most dedicated U.S. Audi Coupe fans are aware of. Then there’s the name – properly, a capitalized Quattro refers to the aforementioned legend – the model that launched the branding of Audi’s all-wheel drive system. Every subsequent model that followed properly has a lowercase “q” if it sported the optional all-wheel drive. That even goes for models that were only offered in all-wheel drive, such as the V8 quattro. So confusing is the naming scheme that fans have taken to using “Ur” to refer to the Quattro (though proper capitalization would take care of the problem) for not only the original model, but the C4 S4/S6 and I’ve even been seeing it used for TTs, A4s and a few others. But the B3 and B4 Coupe wasn’t just offered in all-wheel drive; there were a long line of optional engines in the Coupe in both two and four wheel drive. However it only came to the U.S. in one configuration – the under appreciated 7A inline-5 20V motor pushing all four wheels. The B3 ran the second generation of quattro, with the center differential controlled by a Torsen unit and the rear open with an optional, speed limited locking unit. It upped the safety and electronic options to respond to market demands. They were heavy with electronic features including power seats, and passengers enjoyed the confusing safety net known as PROCON-10 – essentially, a series of cables which pre-tensioned seatbelts in the event of a crash. Though the production run of U.S. Coupes was brief at only 2 years and roughly 1700 units, there were many changes over that time. The motor changed ISV valves and computers as well as swapping from a tubular header to a cast iron unit. Shortly into production, airbags became standard on both the Coupe and sedan models. A rear swaybar was added, along with changes to the hydraulic system. All of these went relatively unseen to consumers, making the only notable change the addition of a glass sunroof to 1991 models. For the most part, these cars came fully loaded with the only options being Pearlescent White Metallic paint and power heated seats, unlike the sedan which despite being fewer in number has much more variety in options. This 1990 example was basically as expensive as a B3 got here:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1990 Audi Coupe quattro on eBay
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Following up on the 10,000 mile 1993 Corrado SLC from two weeks ago, today I have a lovely trio of Corrados to take a look at. Covering the model years and changes from 1990 to 1994, these three are low mile, impeccable condition and it’s a stroke of luck to see them all at the same time. As the expensive Corrado sold rather slowly on these shores, numbers have always been a bit short and now that the first models can be registered as antiques in most states they’re firmly into collector territory. As the Corrado is pretty well known on these pages, I won’t go into extreme model history today as we’re looking at three examples. For an excellent look at the history of the Corrado, take some time to read the Hemming’s take on it back in 2013. The previously mentioned 10,000 mile Corrado failed to meet its reserve despite shocking bidding which ended at $27,400. Clearly, there’s a market for these clean examples, so is any the match for the 1993?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1994 Volkswagen Corrado SLC on eBay
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I spend a decent percentage of my 911 perusing looking specifically at the years of 964 production. Mostly that’s to be on the lookout for interesting examples of the 964 itself, but also for interesting examples of the ’89 3.2 Carrera. The latter are plentiful, while the former certainly are not. To be clear, I see plenty of 964s out there, but they tend to all be more or less the same: either black, red, or white in reasonable, not great, condition and consisting mostly of Targas and Cabriolets. Given the wide variety of interesting colors Porsche had available during the 964’s life it almost seems strange that we don’t see more of them, but rare colors are just that. When we add to that the difficultly Porsche had in selling these in the first place, then we probably shouldn’t be surprised that those that did sell were of a more typical variety. Well, I’ve found a couple that stood out to me more so than the rest. The one we see here isn’t of the rare vibrant sort, but I really like a 964 in Grey (for whatever reason the color suits the model’s lines well) so it caught my attention. We’re short on information, but the condition looks pretty good and if the price can be brought down some I think Cabriolet fans could be quite pleased. Here we have a Stone Grey (Steingrau) Metallic 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet, located in San Francisco, with a Taupe leather interior and 86,176 miles on it.