The Mercedes-Benz W140 Coupe is growing on me. Especially when they are done as well as today’s car. This 1997 S500 Coupe up for sale in Costa Mesa is painted in the ultra-bright Imperial Red and most importantly, the 18″ three-piece AMG wheels. The interior is take it or leave it beige leather, but it does make up for it having just a little over 25,000 miles. Time to buy in on the C140? Probably not this example given the asking price. Let me explain.
Last week, I took a look at one of the nicest examples of a W140 Mercedes-Benz S-Class that I’ve seen in quite some time. In addition to it being extremely clean, it was also optioned with the cloth/velour interior. Like mentioned, that interior choice was actually a more expensive option, which in terms of the American market, seems counter-intuitive. As luck would have it, another top of the range S-Class popped up with a velour interior and this time its on US soil.
This 1988 560SEC up for sale in Portland, Oregon is a left-hand drive car built for the Japanese market which means it has all the European-spec goodies. Shorter bumpers, the proper headlights, and the wonderful patterned blue velour interior. Wait until you see it.
While it’s easy to get wrapped up in the biggest, baddest, and fastest of every type of car, in the background there are some hidden gems. These jewels are, unfortunately for enthusiasts, getting harder to find – in this case, we have a naturally aspirated, inline-6, rear-drive coupe with a manual gearbox. If that sounds like an endangered species, you’re right – it seems to be. But by forgoing the turbocharger of the bigger brother 335i or twin turbos in the 335iS, jumping into this Liquid Blue Metallic 328i won’t cost you an arm or a leg – a good thing, since you’ll need both of each to drive it.
There are rare Porsches, and then there are rare Porsches. The 968 Turbo S is a car that very few will ever get to see and a fair amount of Porsche enthusiasts in the U.S. don’t even know exists. The ultimate streetable front-engined Turbo coupe from the end of the run, the Turbo S took the old 2.5 8V turbo inline-4 to new heights of power by utilizing the newer S2/968 3.0 block with the earlier 944 Turbo S bits on top. Power reached over 300, a healthy bump over the existing 944 turbo and 968 16v. But there were only a handful made – around 14 between racing and street versions, making it one of the rarest Porsches ever made. This means you’re not likely to see one anytime soon – making the prospect of owning this replica much more appealing:
As I get older and my head gains an alarming amount of grey hairs, my patience and desire for “projects” is growing thin. I have no problem working on cars, but my time seems to be sucked up by other things that aren’t getting covered in diesel fuel when changing a pre-filter. This is leads me away from saying things like “Oh, this car on Craigslist only needs $2,900 in parts and 10 hours of labor. I can swing that”. Instead, I’m finding myself just clicking the back button and not even considering cars that aren’t nearly turn-key.
Thankfully there are a handful of older cars out there that are still turn-key and need very little. This 1979 Mercedes-Benz 300CD up for sale in Oregon might just be one of those. It certainly looks like a time capsule both inside and out, as well as the most important area, under the hood. I wish this one wasn’t 3,000 miles away.
In terms of ‘Classic Mercedes-Benz’, the W111 Coupe is near the top. Rightfully so, as it is a product of Frenchman Paul Bracq who was also responsible for the Pagoda, 600, and even some other iconic cars at BMW, Citroën, and Peugeot. It’s as every bit as elegant and stunning as anything that rolled out of the factory in Crewe, England at rival Rolls-Royce/Bentely, and the build quality is on par with some international bank vaults. Even doing a quick Google search for “W111 Coupe” will have you lost in an array of stunning examples. However, I highly doubt a Google search will turn up this color combination. This 1966 up for sale in Florida is painted in Sandbeige Metallic over a green leather interior. Yes, green. Not that green that almost looks like black. No, this is Saint Patrick’s Day green. Wait until you peek inside this car.
Update 8/18/19 – this 500SEC sold for $4,600.
I still get wishy-washy on the Mercedes-Benz W140 Coupe. Sometimes I think it looks great, other times I think it looks very odd. Yes, a lot of that has to do with the wheel and tire combo, but maybe my argument is that it shouldn’t come down to what wheels and tires a car has to determine if it looks good or not. The reason this comes up is because I came across a very interesting 1993 500SEC up for sale in Florida for a couple of reasons. First, it is painted in the very rare Nautical Blue Metallic. Second, it only has 98k miles on the odometer. Lastly, it is relatively cheap. Although that is probably for a reason.
For some time, the B3 Audi Coupe Quattro enjoyed a coveted place in the lineup, and many enthusiasts still consider them the high point of Audi design. However, in the market place their star has fallen slightly as newer and faster cars have become more affordable. While for some time a solid example would have cost you well north of $6,000, these low production all-wheel drive hatchbacks seem to have fallen on harder times recently, with the pool of remaining candidates dwindling and most coming to market with heavy needs. They have a reputation for being slow compared to the competition – the result of being relatively heavy rather than lacking in the motor department. The 7A inline-5 20V motor is a true gem, and on the fly these Coupes are quite entertaining to drive. Of course, as with most of the Audi quattros, turbo conversions are popular and the possibilities are near limitless.
The B3 chassis also upped the electronic quotient for the driver compared to the relatively simple B2s. Electronic fuel injection, electronically locking (and automatically disengaging) rear differential, a Torsen center differential, electric seats and automatic climate control moved the B3 upscale from the B2, along with added safety features. Next year the first of these Coupes turn 30 years old – an age that qualifies them as being antique in most states. Audi only sold a reported 1,730 of these Coupes between 1990 and 1991 model years, and the best (and probably optimistic) estimates put only about 75% of those still on the road today. Options on the Coupe were limited to the Cold Weather package, 8-way power seats and Pearlescent White Metallic paint – two of which are seen here on this ’91. ’91s also had the upgraded glass moonroof rather than the early steel panel, though they lost the infamous “Bag of Snakes” tubular header early models carried. ’91s also gained rear sway bars and are the rarest of the bunch, with only 364 sold in the model year and a further 58 traded as leftovers. Like the original, finding a good one is key – and difficult:
Last week I went on and on about a beautiful 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SE and how it was quintessential classic Mercedes styling and durability. Timeless is a word that maybe comes to mind, but no car person will ever look at that the W108 and not be able to tell it was the late 1960s or early 1970s. Maybe that is a part of the aura around it. It’s a car old enough to have grand children but still water skied on weekends when the knees were feeling good. The W108 and W109 didn’t wither away, they felt every bit as good as they did forty years ago if you kept up on them. Today, I wanted to look at another car that came just before that 1970 280SE and still has that classic Mercedes feel, the W111 220SEb Coupe.
The 220SEb was the top of the range W111 Coupe that featured Bosch fuel injection as opposed to twin Solex carburetors found on the 220Sb. As you might have guessed, everything improved when fuel injection was added to the 2.2 liter M127. More horsepower, better acceleration, and the ability to gobble up miles. This 1962 220SEb up for sale in Chicago looks like it did exactly that. This W111 Coupe isn’t a pickled show car or museum piece. It was enjoyed thoroughly.
That a clean first generation TT still looks new some 15 years later is rather miraculous. Perhaps it points to a change in car designs; less revolution, more evolution. Consider for a moment that the TT concept (which went into production largely unchanged) toured the car show circuit in 1995 – only 6 years after the move to the 964 model by Porsche. Of course, it’s easy to see why Audi would only evolve the design of the TT. It was a hit off the bat, as pretty much everyone liked the snappy performance, the unique looks, the economic practicality of a 2+2 hatchback, the available all-wheel drive. So park a 2004 TT next to a 2014 TT, and though the design moved into a new decade, it didn’t change direction.
Because the TT has been ubiquitous over the past nearly twenty years in the marketplace, it’s often taken for granted that you can get one pretty much any time you want. News flash: you can get an air-cooled 911 of any variant, an E30 M3, a Bugatti EB110 – whatever – anytime you want, too. The difference? You and I can afford the TT.
