It certainly seems like the first-generation Cayenne GTS is here to stay as a desirable vehicle. That is rather evident seeing the prices compared to the standard Cayenne and Cayenne S of the same years and things really start getting crazy when talking about a nice GTS with a 6-speed gearbox. The automatics certainly always trade less, but still not what what would I would call “cheap.” Still, if you could buy an SUV around $20,000 and not lose anything in depreciation, would you?
Well, I certainly didn’t expect to see this. When you say “W204 Mercedes-Benz C-Class” to me, I think of an incredibly milquetoast car that was made to a price point for the masses and it certainly reflects that. Yes, the range-topping C63 AMG was a bonkers car that is a ton of fun, but at the same time almost equally as terrifying if you haven’t fixed the headbolts on them. Back to the standard models, you were offered up various V6s with an automatic and a very rare manual that is nearly impossible to find. Well, it looks like someone found one and decided to turn it into a full blown race car to compete in the Trans Am series, along with various other series that it qualified for. You know what they say about racing: To end up with a small pile of money, start with a really big pile of money.
Last week I took a look at a very interesting 2007 Porsche 911 Turbo that garnered some discussion and even some people saying they really like it. Outside of the optional and very expensive carbon ceramic brakes, it looked like a pretty standard 997 Turbo. Then you peeked inside the windows and knew this wasn’t your typical example that dentist in the nice part of town leases every three years. No standard black leather here, this was Palm Green. Granted, a very subdued green, but still not something you’ll see everyday nor, for that matter, almost ever. Personally, I loved it. Give me the slightly-wild color combos everyday.
Wouldn’t you know, our friend at Switch Cars just happened to have another 997 in a seemingly restrained exterior color but a wild interior. Brace yourself, this one is a little bit more loud than Palm Green.
The 997 Porsche 911 GT3 is sort of in the middle of an interesting phase right now. They aren’t new enough where buyers are desperately demanding them as the latest and greatest, but not old enough where it would be considered a classic. On the flip side, one could argue that these were timeless cars from the beginning and would always be in demand from the first day on the lot until 50 years from now. I don’t disagree with that, but I’d argue that Porsche spit out so many different GT cars after launching the 997 GT3, that these are sort of overlooked when it comes to shoppers who are willing to spend north of $100,000. The interesting part is that some early 997.1 GT3 examples are selling well under $100,000. The make it even more interesting, you can find 997.2 GT3s for under $100,000 if you are willing to compromise on color. However, today’s car probably isn’t going to be a compromise for anyone.
This 2010 GT3 up for in Colorado is finished in the lovely Speed Yellow and has a ton of options like Carbon Ceramic brakes, the Sport Chrono package, hardback yellow seats, yellow gauges, and a bunch of little things that all add up to a very big price tag. It comes in with just 27,000 miles on the odometer and looks every bit the part. Thing is, are you willing to spend a premium on the now two generations old GT3?
In one of the more bizarre models in Porsche history, we have the Cayenne S Transsyberia. What the heck is it? The Transsyberia Rally was known as a “raid rally” that ran from 2007-2009 that started in Moscow and ended in Mongolia. No big deal, right? Well considering you had to drive through Ural and Altai mountains, the Mongolian plains, the Gobi Desert, and whatever else Siberia could offer up it wasn’t so easy. The route was roughly 4,500 miles long and needless to say not every vehicle that started ended up finishing. Some stages we so dangerous they would just end up getting cancelled all together. Porsche offered assistance with a handful of Cayennes – 25 of 34 registered teams drove them to be exact – all being slightly modified production vehicles. After realizing that this marketing event really didn’t appeal to anyone, Porsche pulled the plug on factory support.
However, someone sitting in a cubical in Stuttgart came up with the brilliant idea to slap a few stickers and extra paint on some Cayennes and call it the “Transsyberia Edition”. Thankfully it wasn’t just some cosmetics, it did feature the 410 horsepower engine from the GTS and some extra skid plates for all the gravel parking lots at the soccer fields. Porsche made 600 of these in total, with 102 coming to North America. Four colors were offered, black with orange accents, silver with orange accents, black with grey highlights, and grey with silver highlights. Today’s example up for sale in Alabama of all places, is the least offensive of the colors offered: grey with silver highlights.
As fun and quirky as my two daily drivers, a 1980 Mercedes-Benz 300SD and 1983 Mercedes-Benz 240D, are to have, they are borderline miserable to drive in the northeast during the winter months. Since I don’t own a four car garage, they sit in the driveway 99% of the time while my W210 E55 AMG sits under a cover in my garage with empty boxes piled on top of it. As a result, it is always a surprise to see if the locks or door handles are frozen when I walk outside in the morning. From there, the 240D is pretty good about starting in any temperature but the 300SD isn’t having it unless the coolant heater has been plugged in for a while despite me just replacing the glow plugs a few months ago. Once I do get one of them fired up, really hot heat is a pipe dream in the 240D while it’s a crap shoot in the W116 because of the god forsaken Chrysler servo system. Compare all this to a normal car that you simply press a button on a key fob, put it in gear and drive away in total comfort. This all has me dreaming about a more modern daily driver and when you comes to dreams, you know what they say, dream big.
This 2010 S550 4Matic up for sale in Brooklyn might be one of the nicest W221s outside of any S600 or AMG variety. Painted in Designo Magno Platinum Matte Finish on the outside, the inside is even better with Designo Sand Leather seats with Oak Grain Designo Natural Matte wood sprinkled about. Add in some other neat options like the rear seat entertainment package and you have a really loaded up S-Class. But even with the depreciation at around 25% of its original cost, is it worth it?
I think most of us by now are familiar with Riviera Blue. Though only available since the introduction of the 993 it has become perhaps the most iconic of all the Porsche colors. Among Porsche’s deeply vibrant non-metallic blues it only is rivaled by Mexico Blue, which has a full twenty years longer existence than Riviera. When it comes up as a PTS option Riviera always attracts notice. And very high prices.
So when I came across two pretty similar PTS 997s in the color I figured I’d throw them together for a post. I’ve come across a decent number of 991s in Riviera Blue, but if we go back just one model they become far more rare. I can’t say I know how many exist, but it doesn’t appear to be very many. At the very least, opportunities to purchase one are fleeting. Here are two such opportunities: a 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 and a 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 RS. For me these are two of the best looking 911s produced and especially in the case of the GT3 RS I tend to prefer their looks over those of their successor. In Riviera Blue both look phenomenal.
Let’s look at the GT3 first:
Update 10/15/18: This 911 GT3 sold for $135,000.
In truth I wasn’t sure I should post this Speed Yellow 2010 Porsche 911 GT3. I just posted a Speed Yellow GT3 a couple days ago so this is a little redundant. However, that was a 996, while this is a 997 and this one just looks so good that I was finding it hard to move on to other options. I figured if I was this interested, then others might be as well.
The other reason I ultimately chose to feature this one was in terms of market. As we’ve seen prices for the 996 have moved up. In some cases those prices even eclipse what you’d be asked to pay for a 997. So anyone looking at a GT3 would do well to consider both options. This is up for auction without reserve so it should give us a nice window into where the market stands. (We also don’t have to worry about an ultra-high reserve, more on that below.)
The 996 still is reputed to be the more pure of these two models, while the 997 is undeniably the better looking car. I like the 996 GT3’s looks, but there is a way in which that is relative to other 996 models. The 997 GT3 and especially the 997.2 like we see here is on another level. This particular example shows off its good looks incredibly well.
Do I like this color? I realize that’s a strange way to begin a post, but it’s my primary thought when looking at this 2010 Porsche 911 Carrera S Coupe. As noted in the title the color is Cream White. I can think of few times, if ever, I’ve seen it. Or, at least, few times I recognized it. Normally a subdued white would not be my thing. Yet, I’m really attracted to this 911. I find it quite striking and dare I say beautiful. I’d love to see it in the flesh (were I a prospective buyer I’d have to see one in the flesh before committing to the color) because I’m curious how it looks up close and under various lighting conditions. White 911s can look very good. These cream or off-white options have long been offered by Porsche and this one reminds me of Ivory, which can be very pretty on the 356. But this is one of the few times that I’ve really liked it on the 911.
While Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have all given us superb performance wagons (yes, even in the U.S.!), the German manufacturer with “Wagen” in its name has managed to skirt a really the opportunity to engage 5-door fanatics of ‘Freedom’.
But wait, you say, what about the Passat W8 4Motion Variant 6-speed?
Yeah sure. It was a really cool concept, and with the sport package BBS wheels it even looked really neat. But it wasn’t really a performance wagon. The follow-up 3.6 4Motion Variant actually did offer a bit more sport, but only came in automatic form. The more serious R36 never came here.
However, a few years ago Volkswagen launched an even MORE potent option – the Golf SportWagon R. With a 300 horsepower version of the 2.0 TSFI linked to the 6-speed manual or DSG dual-clutch box and utilizing the same Haldex all-wheel drive as the regular Golf R, the result was no surprise – a slightly bigger Golf R equaled a small performance wagon with few peers. 0-60 could be topped in 4.5 seconds and the quarter was gone in 13.3 seconds with the DSG, it topped out at 155 mph and yet would return 30 mpg on the highway. Eat your cake and have it too, indeed!
Of course, it hasn’t come here. But since it’s a VW and VW enthusiasts are swap-happy….
