I’ve mentioned this before – but unless you have a keen eye, the 993, 996, and 997 Targa models don’t exactly scream “Hey, I’m a Targa!”. They all used very complex glass roofs with a hatchback-style piece that can be helpful in some situations. Still, these models have a far contrast to the return of the Targa panel that we saw with the 991. For the 997 chassis, all the Targa cars were built on the Carrera 4 body, which of course meant all were all-wheel drive. Just 1,760 were produced worldwide, with only 800 coming to America. This 2011 Targa 4 up for sale outside of Philadelphia is finished in the wonderful color of Racing Green Metallic over a Sand Beige interior; however, it is not cheap.
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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: 2011
When it comes to the argument of which Porsche 911 is the king of the hill, you won’t see me dismiss the 997 GT3 RS 4.0. Porsche and the GT team basically did everything they could to crank 500 horsepower out of a flat-six squeezed in the back of the 997. At the time, this was supposed to be the last GT car with a true six-speed manual. So when these dropped, all 600 were jumped on like wild dogs on meat. Now ten years later, double the MSRP and you can take one home. Fair deal?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 on eBay
4 CommentsBMW’s naming convention went all wonky (even wonkier, perhaps?) after 2010, as they moved away from the previous ‘iX’ moniker to the new ‘xDrive’ nameplate. To make normal models seem equally special, or perhaps to keep German badge makers employed, they then introduced a new model option – ‘sDrive’. While you might at first think this stands for ‘sport’, you’d be wrong. In fact, the ‘sDrive’ is like Audi’s ‘FrontTrak’ – a fancy name for a two-wheel drive model. Does that automatically mean rear-drive? No. You can, for example, get a brand new 2020 BMW X1 sDrive, which means front-wheel drive, but ostensibly the name is associated with the rear-drive-only Z4 roadster, as we see here.
The revised E89 Z4 launched in 2009, and gone were two things – the M variant, and the coupe, which was replaced by a folding hardtop design. Europe got a plethora of engine choices, but in America we got two, essentially shared with the E8x series – the sDrive3.0i and the sDrive3.5i. As with the E8x and E9x series, the “3.5” wasn’t actually a 3.5, but the twin-turbocharged N54 under the hood. Unlike both of those other models, though, the N54 was not replaced with the N55 single-turbo motor after 2010. Instead, the N54 soldiered on. Also unlike the E8x and e9x models, while there was a ‘is’ model launched that turned up the twist to 1M levels of power, in the Z4 that engine choice could only be had with a seven-speed DCT gearbox. That means that this car was the most potent form of the E89 you could get at the time with a manual transmission:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2011 BMW Z4 sDrive35i on eBay
2 CommentsSince the 1990s, the proliferation of each premium marque’s “special†brands has become dizzying, and for enthusiasts it seems as though they’ve continuously diluted the performance options in favor of profits. From S-Line to AMG to perhaps the biggest offender, BMW’s M division, companies are badge slapping-happy when it comes to sticking a bigger set of wheels, some special trim and maybe, if you’re lucky, a few extra ponies. And on the surface, this 335d would seem to fit that description perfectly. After all, how could you possibly compare the diesel to that sonorous M3’s S65 V8 that cranks out over 400 horsepower and 300 lb.ft of torque with a 8,400 RPM redline? Pull up to a redlight next to one in this 335d, and the snickering owner would undoubtedly be laughing at the ‘M-Sport’ option package you ticked off. Because you’d think there would be absolutely no way that diesel would produce equal power to the M3.
You’d be right. The M57 under the hood of the 335d doesn’t produce as much horsepower as the M3, at least not in stock form. But torque? It produces more. A lot more.
Starting at a leisurely 2,000 rpms, the twin turbochargers augmenting the inline-6 spool up to a mountain of power. In stock form, the 335d cranked out 428 lb.ft of torque. In fact, it’s so much torque that gets used on a regular basis that the first person I met who had one had already consumed a transfer case on his xDrive model, and he’s not alone. Being a turbocharged model, it was also quite easy and possible to turn up the wick, and yet this classy 4-door can still return 35 mpg. Try that in a M3: