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Tag: 4.5

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1978 Porsche 928

When I was about 5 years old, my father took me to the Porsche dealership. Rows of new arrivals from Zuffenhausen lined up, a cornucopia of Easter egg-colored speed machines. In 1983, the low, organic, flowing shapes of the 911 and 944 stood in vast contrast to the bulk of three-box designs that proliferated the marketplace. But there was one shape that really stuck out to me – the 928.

In 1983, Porsche hadn’t yet abandoned its hope that the 928 would ascend to the top of the Porsche model lineup, and because of this I don’t remember seeing any 928s outside. Where I did see them was inside the showroom, where I distinctly remember one residing. My father was taken by the 911 (still is, to this day), and perhaps it was a father-versus-son stereotypical response, but the air-cooled model looked old and antiquated. The 928 was, both literally and figuratively, the antithesis of the 911. Water-cooled, front-engined, Grand Touring. It looked like a spaceship both inside and out. Clearly, this was the future I was witnessing.

Yet the 928, for all its press and relative market success, never caught completely on. It was never able to wrest the crown from the 911 as the signature model for Porsche. But what is perhaps most surprising to me is that it is one of the few cars that today, over forty years gone from its design phase, that unlike basically every other car model produced in the 1970s and 1980s, it still looks futuristic today. Okay, admittedly, the plastics have aged, tiny wheels with big, comfy side walls are no longer the norm and flush-fitted windows, lights, locks and antenna would clean the design up significantly. But compare this design to a few contemporaries, for a moment – the 1976 Chrysler New Yorker, the Toyota Cressida, or the Fiat 128. Three different nations, three different versions of the present, none anywhere near as revolutionary as the design that sits here:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1978 Porsche 928 on 928Classics.com

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1973 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 4.5

I love a good ownership story as much as the next person. The majority of the time, they have some kind of celebrity tie simply because the nature of the cars we deal with. We’ve done Lennon, Elvis (twice), actual kings, the Great One, Sweetness, Air Jordan, and both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. For every giant name, there are not so giant names that still have a great story behind them. Today’s car, a 1973 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 4.5 up for sale in Colorado, is one of those stories.

This W108 was purchased new by the seller’s mother in July 1973 to park beside her 450SL where she proudly posed for photos looking very stylish in proper 1970s clothing. It has remained with her ever since and she still takes occasional rides in it at the ripe old age of 102. It isn’t a pristine example or even a very nice one, but I really don’t have much of a problem with that. To keep a car over 45 years and continue driving it over that time is no easy feat, even for something as solid as a W108. Sadly, the time has come for this car to find a new loving home for the next 45 years. I just wish I was closer.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1973 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 4.5 on Hemmings

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1973 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL

I get really excited when I come across a nice W116 Mercedes-Benz. Full disclosure, it is probably because I own one and enjoy it a lot. When I caught a glimpse of this 1973 450SEL up for sale in Chicago, my ears really perked up. Being a 1973, the first year for the W116 in North America, it meant that this car had its proper slim bumpers and not the diving boards they put on these cars from 1974 to 1980. Not only that, but I saw some red leather peeking out from inside the car. Now I was really interested! Come to find out, this 450SEL had just 54,000 miles on and looks to be in exceptional shape. Of course the gears in my head started turning and I started to guess how much this prime example was going to command. When I found out, I wasn’t too surprised, but I also knew that this car wasn’t going to be a quick sale just because of what the W116 is.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1973 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL on eBay

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1976 Mercedes-Benz 450SL

One of my favorite configurations of cars is ‘business on the outside, party on the inside’. A reverse mullet of sorts. What I mean is, a car that has a standard appearance on the exterior, usually a subdued color, but a totally bright and wild interior. Usually you can just peak inside the windows to see something happening in there and it is all the more interesting once you finally get a full look inside. Today’s car, a 1976 Mercedes-Benz 450SL up for sale in California, is exactly that.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1976 Mercedes-Benz 450SL on eBay

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1973 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 4.5

I never get tired of a really nice Mercedes-Benz W108/W109. From the 2.5 liter up through the legendary 6.3 and with a bunch of options in between, you can get your fix just about any way you want with them. Honestly, this thing is so handsome it could have a tiny OM615 that makes 55 horsepower and I’d still be happy with it. The square contours on this thing are all sized perfectly but at the same time doesn’t feel like a small car. Despite only having an eight year production run from 1965 to 1973 and pumping out over 380,000 examples, these sedans have stuck around. You can find them in almost every condition for almost every price. Today’s example, a 1972 280SE 4.5 up for sale in California, is one of those better ones.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1973 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 4.5 V8 on eBay

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