Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
The 1981 Mercedes-Benz 280CE 4-speed manual we saw last October is back up for auction, not having met its reserve the last time around. If you aren’t particularly a diesel fan yet are intrigued by the durability of the W123, there are few better options than a Euro market CE coupe such as this.
Having looked at a Mercedes-Benz 500SLCyesterday, it got me contemplating what other homologation specials are out there carrying the Three Pointed Star. The next logical car in the company’s timeline was the 190E 2.3-16. Originally developed to go rallying, the Audi Quattro suddenly deemed the Baby Benz a bit uncompetitive, so they went racing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, or DTM series, instead. This new, fast 190 also set twelve endurance records at the Nardo testing facility in Italy, with three cars recording a combined average speed of just over 154 mph over the 50,000 km test. This example for sale in Northwest Germany has covered only 28,000 km more over its lifetime, and since it is more than 25 years old, qualifies for import to US shores.
I have another few rare sets of wheels to check out this week, starting with some polarizing but cool Brabus wheels. They’re pricey but quite a way to set your Mercedes-Benz apart. There’s also a set of BBS RX wheels which remind me of some of the great designs gone by since BBS switched hands. This week I found another set of Rial wheels, this time slightly different with a large offset. There’s also a rare set of Volkswagen Votex wheels. And if you’re feeling ridiculously rich and have an early 911 that you want to have a race look, there’s a set of ultra-rich magnesium Minilites that is priced around the cost of most cars I look at. Enjoy!
Towards the end of the C107 run, Mercedes-Benz decided to try its hand at rallying, and entered the 450SLC 5.0 into the 1978 World Rally Championship. This of course spawned a homolgated street version of the rally car in the form of the 450SLC 5.0 and later, 500SLC. There were some significant changes to these performance coupes, most notably a V8 engine pumping out 240 horsepower, aluminum hood and decklid and a small rear spoiler. The 500SLC would debut in March of 1980 with slightly less displacement than the V8 in the 450SLC 5.0 but now with a 4-speed automatic gearbox in place of the previous 3-speed unit. Given these were a homologation special, of course, few were made. Only 1,133 500SLCs left the factory. The Canary Islands isn’t where you would typically expect to find such a rare Mercedes, but with one owner since 1984, it is quite the find.
The low mileage 1998 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG is back up on offer with a price drop of $1,500. Are we getting close on this one?