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Tag: Alpine White

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1986 Audi Coupe GT Commemorative Edition

I know, I know – another Audi B2 post. But hey, we hear about every single variant of 911 all the time too, and since I love the GTs I think they deserve to be showcased. There weren’t many special editions of the GT produced, but in 1986 Audi made an entire run of “Commemorative Design” cars. The 4000CS, 4000CS quattro, Coupe GT and 5000 models all got special upgrades and each were slightly different. The closest were the 4000 quattro and Coupe GT, which shared paint colors and interiors. The exteriors were either Graphite Metallic or Alpine White, but inside they shared the same lipstick red “Mouton” leather. While the quattro got the slightly uprated JT code 115 horsepower inline-5, the GT relied on the “KX” code motor with 110 ponies. The difference lay in the exhaust manifold; the GT unit was a 5-1 cast manifold, while the quattro had a beefier 5-3-1 exit, along with a larger diameter exhaust. However, the lighter GT was quicker than the all wheel drive variant; and thanks to the nature of the GT versus the quattro market, more of the special 1986 models have survived. The ’86 CE models also received the notorious digital dash, and if you selected Alpine White, they had color matched wheels, mirrors and rear spoiler. The color combination really makes the sharp Giugiaro lines stand out:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1986 Audi Coupe GT Commemorative Edition on Seattle Craigslist

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The Spark of Life: 1987.5 Audi Coupe GT Part 2

About a month has passed since my introduction piece on the new-to-me 1987.5 Audi Coupe GT “Special Build”, and since then a fair amount of work has occurred. There have been a few successes and a few setbacks; as with any project, some things were unexpected and have complicated matters slightly, but then this is a car that has been sitting outside for over a decade non-running – it was never going to be a cake walk. Still, I’m quite a few steps closer to it being a viable car again, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to update the readership as to just how well it is (or, isn’t) going.

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1985 BMW M635CSi

Though they’re the juggernaut of BMW performance today, the reality is that there were quite a few stumbling blocks and it took many years for BMW Motorsport GmbH to establish themselves as the benchmark for German performance. Though many consider the M1 the genesis of BMW M, in fact the brand was born nearly a decade earlier with the introduction of the 3.0 CSL. The high performance E9 was built together with BMW’s competition department, a relationship which ultimately resulted in the birth of BMW’s Motorsport division. A few years later, the new entity would give birth to an equally legendary creation, the 2002 Turbo. But when it came to the first car to carry the “M” badge, it was of course the legendary M1 with its motorsport derived M88/1 double overhead cam inline six screaming in the middle of the car. You’d think this recipe carried over immediately to the sedan range, but that was not immediately the case. First, BMW produced the M535i in the E12 chassis. Though the E28 model of the same designation was mostly an appearance package, the E12 model was turned up over the rest of the range – but not with the M88; BMW instead relied on the M30 to power the M535i. Then, there was a year where nothing happened; the M1 was out of production, the E12 was replaced by the E28, and ostensibly BMW had no real performance models. That was remedied at the 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show, where a juiced up version of the 635CSi was offered. It was labeled the M635CSi; but unlike the M535i, under the hood wasn’t the venerable M30 that powered the normal 635CSi. In its place, the Motorsport division decided to slot the M88, now with /3 designation; the result was 286 horsepower – a staggering figure at the time, considering that the contemporary Porsche 930 was considered fairly bonkers with a little over 300 horsepower and though it looked much larger, the early E24s only weighed about 200 lbs. more than the Porsche. Coupled with some aerodynamic tweaks, heavier duty suspension, brakes and larger wheels and tires, the result was the menacing presence worthy of the nickname “Shark”. For all intents and purposes, this was really the first “M” car for the masses:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1985 BMW M635CSi on eBay

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Waking From A Coma: 1987.5 Audi Coupe GT Part 1

For those of you who follow the blog, my affinity for the Audi Coupe GT will come as no surprise. Few cars embody the “more than the sum of its parts” ideology better than the GT; a competent cruiser, fun to toss around corners, reliability and longevity all coupled with great and unique looks to create a package that was better than its peers. Previously, I’ve covered some of the history of my 1986 Coupe GT 20V; a unique car that’s been with me since 1998. Still running strong and delivering smiles, it is the third of four coupes that passed through my hands. It’s also an interesting example; a non-Commemorative Design car, it was one of the few 1986s delivered with a digital dashboard and in the rare shade of Oceanic Blue Metallic. I’ve also owned a Tornado Red, Graphite Metallic and another Oceanic Blue Metallic example – but there was one I always really wanted; a 1987.5 “Special Build” in Alpine White.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a friend with the subject line “Coupe for sale”. Of course, I didn’t hesitate to open up the email even though I was on vacation and not looking to buy a car. But the message inside was too intriguing to pass up; my friend told me he could get a whole car minus wheels and radio for free – did I want it? The questions went down the rabbit hole; what color was it? White. What year? 87. And, according to my friend, it looked very solid. With each answer, my hopes increased. I asked for pictures; worst case, I could grab some parts for it. The picture above was the first one I got; there it was, a 87.5. I could tell right away by the white spoiler, mirrors and window trim. The wheels were wrong, but as they were slated to stay with my friend that didn’t worry me. Inside, the interior looked remarkably clean and velour – more on that later. The downside to all of this? It was non-running and an automatic. Still, the images revealed a shocking number of NLA parts for the GTs that were just too good to pass up. The pictures showed a uncracked windshield (European order only these days), both front reflectors (NLA from Audi and trading for more in pristine shape than some whole cars), and the entire compliment of lower grills (also NLA from Audi and hard to find an entire set).

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Face off: 2012 BMW M3 v. 335i

I’ve covered a series of BMW 3 series Individual cars recently, and I seem to be on a streak of finding neat ones. Today for your consideration are two E92s; one 335i turbo with low miles in a nice color combination compared to a M3 Individual with higher miles. The price is nearly the same between the two examples; which would be the one you’d select?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2012 BMW M3 on Craigslist

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