Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
A few weeks ago Craig featured a 1991 Mercedes-Benz 300SL that caught our eye. Everything he said about the R129 I agree with. It is a quintessential Mercedes design which remains attractive today; sporty and taut yet elegant and handsome. Today we feature a R129 300SL that’s every bit as handsome — along with some other goodies.
Until fairly recently, “collector-quality Volkswagen” was pretty much an oxymoron unless you were talking about some rare air-cooled packages like the T34 Ghia or a 23 window microbus. But an explosion of 1980s products means that we’ve seen Mk.1 Sciroccos and GTis break $20,000 or more, and even an odd Mk.2 GTi come close to the same amount. If you’re trying to break in to the 1980s collector scene for Volkswagens, you might be a little late to the party. Not much from the 1990s makes the same impression, save one car – the Corrado. Unlike pretty much every Volkswagen ever made, these expensive sport coupes were prized since new and generally have avoided the pitfalls of downstream VW owners who tend to neglect and abuse them. As a result, we regularly get to see all-original, pristine low mileage Corrados that always amaze me. So throw on some flannel and crank the Soundgarden, we’re taking a trip back in time to 1992:
For U.S. customers, 1992 rather quietly signaled the end of an era for fans of the small chassis. Starting in the early 1980s, Audi had offered their offbeat 5-cylinder motor in models like the 4000 5+5 and Coupe models, but it was really the rally success of the Quattro that put the 5-pot on the map. But the turbocharged variant was quiet expensive, so fans of Audi’s WRC campaign rejoiced in 1984 when the all-wheel drive platform became much more affordable in 4000 quattro form. In Europe, there were several variants and power plants available in 80 and 90 form, but U.S. customers only got the relatively high-spec 4000S/CS quattro. Audi revised the model lineup with the B3 model run, introducing the lower-spec 80 and the more luxurious (and later, more powerful) 90. When the 90 went to the DOHC 7A 20V inline-5, the 80 remained with the 10V 2.3 liter NG which had first appeared in the Special Build Coupe GT model. Though not hugely powerful and feeling slightly overwhelmed by the 80 quattro’s mass, it was a very smooth and fun to drive package capable of huge odometer readings. The package remained available until 1992, when life of the 80 ended in the U.S. as it was not upgraded to B4 specification. As with all Audis from the period, it sold in small numbers: Audi reported only 640 sold in 1992, with not many more sold in the years before it. As the book closed on the inline-5 with a whimper rather than a bang, it’s relatively infrequent to spot one of these late 80s:
The hot hatch may just be the perfect have your cake and eat it too automobile. And though many argue that they weren’t the originator and didn’t produced the best example in the market, Volkswagen’s GTi has been intrinsically linked with the moniker. It always raises an interesting question of which generation is best, and while there are plenty who would contend that the model never got any better than its original configuration, fans of each iteration of the venerable model abound. Like some others that read the blog, I came of automotive age in the midst of the Mk.2 model run. A Mk.2 Golf was also my second car, and as a result I have quite a soft spot for them. In the days before the internet, my knowledge of European models like the Golf Limited was non-existent, so at the time it got no better than the late GTi 2.0 16V. Wider arches, deeper bumpers, fog lights and the signature red striped quad-round grill setup coupled with some great colors like Montana Green. The roof mounted Fuba antenna was like a remote control pickup for fun, and capped with some awesome BBS RM multi-piece wheels and slick looking Recaros, the package might as well have said “Ferrari” on the front. But if the looks of the Mk.2 GTi were the best in the line, quite a few VW souls would point out that the fantastic sounding VR6 model that followed had the performance that really backed up the hot-hatch name. As a result, swapping the VR6 into the Mk.2 has not only become popular but almost a given, and VR swaps are nearly as prevalent as the ubiquitous S50/S52 in a E30 swap. This particular one has been dialed up a few more notches with a turbo, but channels the look of the 2.0 16V with some updates and a whole lot of black paint:
At this point I have featured pretty much every rare 964 variant that exists, and as I’ve stated previously there were a lot of rare 964s, more so than other 911 models. I’m fairly certain this one will complete the set, even if the Turbo S2 can be argued to be an option package rather than a distinct model. No matter. With only 20 such beasts produced, so as to meet the minimum production numbers for homologation purposes, the Turbo S2 is one of the lowest production 911s we’ll find across the entire 911 range. Other parts of the world would receive the 3.3 liter 911 Turbo S, a much lightened higher-horsepower variant that provided a wonderful sendoff for the 3.3 liter turbo that served Porsche so faithfully for much of the 930’s life and the early years of the 964 Turbo. For the Turbo S2, modifications were limited to the engine so these aren’t as lightweight and hardcore as the Turbo S, but with 381 hp delivered only to the rear wheels via a single turbo the performance would be very brisk and attention holding. For their production Porsche sent 20 US Turbos to Andial where their engines were modified before being delivered to their new US owners. The example here is somewhat peculiar among very rare Porsches: it’s been driven! Here we have a Slate Grey Metallic 1992 Porsche 911 Turbo S2, located in Calgary, with 91,100 miles on it.
