Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
As I’ve talked about many times, the Audi/Volkswagen crowd is one of the most unique in the automotive enthusiast world. The home of polarizing taste, there are both VAG enthusiasts who do a great job modifying their cars and those who ruin them in the pursuit of the being unique. Today we seemingly have one of each; a questionably modified 2001 S4 and a slick looking 2003 S8. Which would be the ride you’d choose? Let’s start with the S4:
People don’t really give BMW enough credit as a risk-taking company, in my opinion. First came the M1, a mid-engined supercar from a company that was producing primarily economy sport sedans. Audi has been applauded for bringing the brilliant R8 to the market, but BMW did it nearly 30 years prior. Then they introduced that same M88 motor into their mid-range sedan and big coupe, changing the definition of sports sedans and bringing GT cars to a higher level. The M3 helped too, and forced Audi and Mercedes-Benz’s hands to make higher performance small sedans that enthusiasts have enjoyed for a few generations now. More recently, the i8 has gone from concept to reality, and stands as one of the most game-changing designs in history. But one that was often overlooked was the i8’s spiritual predecessor, the E31 8 series. A soft, big and angular departure from BMW’s styling in the 1980s, the E31 received a tremendous amount of development and accolades when it was released, but enthusiasts remained skeptical – partially because it seemed the 8’s performance didn’t live up to the promise of the design cues from the M1. Enthusiasts hoped for a high-performance “M8” that magazines taunted but never came. Instead, we received the heavily M-division-modified 850CSi:
I was so certain that we I had written this car up before as the Racing Dynamics prototype, I initially wrote the headline up as a “revisit”. But the year was wrong, the wheels were different, and then I noticed something – that earlier car was an R48, and this car took it to the next level. A full bored and stroked 4.93 liters, the RD50 pushed the performance envelope past the M5. With discrete body modifications and some of the best looking aftermarket wheels ever fitted to a BMW, this is certainly a unique alternative to the normal E39:
Fans of the Audi V8, rejoice! I know there are a few more than just me out there and we always love seeing a clean example of one of the best bits of Audi engineering in history. Sure, there are more significant Audi models, but the V8 certainly deserves to be amongst the top 5. Many view it as an overly complicated, underpowered car – and indeed, in 3.6 automatic form as it was originally received in the U.S., the V8 felt a bit flat. But let’s not forget that Audi reinvigorated what was already an aging chassis to make it feel remarkably fresh. They brought for the first time an automatic gearbox to all-wheel drive, opening an entirely new market share for Audi and making a real contender in the large executive market. But for motorsport fans, the real meat of the Audi V8 meal was the sporting potential of the manual models. It’s often overlooked, but the V8 was a remarkable performer, especially in manual 4.2 version. Today’s example doesn’t have that magical setup, but even in less powerful 3.6 form the car was plenty potent when tied to a 6-speed manual:
The other day, Paul wrote up a 1998 M3 Sedan being sold by the premium dealer Enthusiast Auto Group. This isn’t that car, so if you’re looking for the best sedan available you’re better off looking at that post. However, if you’re looking for the most bang for your buck, this sedan might fill the need. While the E36s didn’t get the full-fat M motors that Europe saw, this particular example has rectified that motivational issue by replacing the venerable inline-6 with a Chevy 6.0 V8 hybrid and mated it to a Tremec 6-speed manual. Interested? I was: