For all my fellow American readers, you’ll have to sit this one out today as it’s forbidden fruit — at least until 2026. What we are…
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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: japan
For me, the perfect counterpoint to the questionably presented C2 from a few days ago is today’s B7 Turbo. Just about everything in the B7 was taken up a few notches over a standard E28 (or even an M5), and this example exemplifies that perfectly in comparison to that E30.
The B7 Turbo models were, quite simply, some of the fastest BMWs made to that point. More to the point, they were some of the fastest cars in the world in the 1980s; Alpina claimed the E12 B7 Turbo was the fastest sedan in the world, for example. The B7S had bumped up to the 3.5 liter M30. Strapping their special injection system along with a KKK turbocharger and a host of internal modifications, the B7S produced 911 Turbo levels of power which made it (unsurprisingly) 911 Turbo fast. The model continued after the changeover to E28 model, but with some differences. Instead of the bespoke injection on the early model, Alpina instead reprogrammed the Motronic in the E28 to work with the turbocharged M30. The B7 was available in both catalyst (/3) and non-catalyst (/1), both producing 300 or more horsepower. Alpina claims they ultimately made 236 of these beasts by the end of production, but the catalyst version – a large chuck of which ended up in Japan – was the more rare of the two. Today, one of these mega sedans is available, and while a high percentage of the Japanese-destined B7s ended up with automatics, this one has a manual:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 Alpina B7 Turbo/3 on eBay
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We are no strangers to the W201 around here. We feature them frequently, and for good reason. The 190 offered up everything ranging from a frugal diesel to a six-figure DTM super car with a myriad of other engine choices in between. Â Today’s featured car for sale in the Pacific Northwest falls right in the middle of the range in terms of price and practicality. A Japanese import 2.5-16, it’s a little out of the norm compared to a 2.3-16 that North Americans are used to seeing.
CLICK FOR DETAILS:Â 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16Â on eBay
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At first glance this may appear to be nothing more than a very clean E34 525i, but look inside and you find out that this car is quite unique. It’s not the pristine cloth interior that I bet still smells good or the OEM tape deck. No, what makes this ultra low mileage E34 so unique is that it’s a import from the Land Of The Rising Sun. That’s right, this is a LHD BMW Japan E34 525i. I’m not an expert on BMW interior history but from what I’ve been able to find, the steering wheel in this vehicle is also unique to foreign markets as is the leather surrounding the shifter. Someone please correct me if I am wrong but so far as I can tell all the U.S. spec E34 5 series had a hard shifter surround, not padded leather which I think is a very nice touch.
Aside from those things the interior is the same low key environment you’ll find in any E34, simple ergonomic design that is focused on the driver. It’s always such a pleasure to see vehicles of this era with such sharp interiors because it really exemplifies how on point they were. I’ve been in a bunch of E34’s and never really appreciated the cabin as most of them had been well worn, sticky surfaces from spilled coffee, cracked leather, that stale smell of two decades worth of shutting people around. I hope that the person that takes this thing home realizes how special it is to break in 26 year old car and really enjoys the process of doing just that. It’s great that this 525i has such low mileage but I’d say it’s time for it to be somebody’s daily driver.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 BMW 525i on eBay
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Most of the time we’re writing about 1980s E30s coming up for hassle-free importation we’re looking at tourings, as they were never brought here. Today, however, reader Bruce has alerted us to an intriguing E30 convertible from Japan via Canada. It’s still left-hand drive, but is in great condition after 90k miles and comes with the same plaid cloth and leather interior that was in the S38 M3 featured earlier this week. The biggest detraction is the automatic, but if you’re looking for some classy and easy top-down cruising, this would be a nice option.
