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Launched in 1978, Alpina’s B6 model took the 2.8L inline-six out of the big brother E12 528i and stuck it into the chassis of the E21 323i. Revisions from Alpina yielded 200 horsepower; pretty impressive for the period – but more was to come, as a new induction system in 1981 cranked it up to nearly 220 horsepower. For some perspective, the ‘high-performance’ L82 Corvette cranked out 220 horsepower at the same time. Coupled with Alpina’s aerodynamic revisions, improved suspension, and awesome turbine wheels – not to mention some fantastic interiors – it’s no surprise that these were popular; at least, by Alpina standards. The company sold over 500 of the model, though they’re relatively hard to find today. Today’s beautiful ’79 is number 66 of the run, and for good measure it’s been turned up more than a few notches.
This car sold for $17,672 on June 28, 2021.
Just recently I looked at a very nice example of the last of the C4 S6 Avants offered in the US – the ‘95.5 model in Aluminum Silver Metallic:
1995.5 Audi S6 Avant
With “only” 132,000 miles on the odometer and looking pretty fresh, despite a few question marks I felt like it was a pretty reasonable asking price at $14k. Well, wouldn’t you know it? ANOTHER “low mileage” 1995.5 S6 Avant in Aluminum Silver Metallic has turned up for sale. What are the odds? What are the odds? Well, one in 32 according to this seller – but that was when they were new of course. Let’s take a look:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: on eBay
VW’s radical redesign on the B3 resulted in a unique, angular look at still stands apart from the crowd today. And because the internals were based on VW’s A2 chassis like the Corrado, when the 2.8 VR6 debuted in the sporty coupe for ’92 it was only a matter of time until its four-door friend got it too. That happened in ’93 with the release of the GLX VR6. Slow sales resulted in Volkswagen’s refresh of the B4 Passat into the more traditional looking B4 for 1995; which saw new BBS wheels and body styling but the same dynamic performance. Today a clean Emerald Green Pearl Metallic ’96 manual has popped up for sale, and it’s worth a look:
RS. While the GT3 took the reigns as the hot naturally aspirated 911 with the introduction of the 996 generation, before that those two magical letters ruled the roost. And while for some it was hard to surpass the original, for me the absolute best one made was the last; the 993-generation Carrera RS. It continued the recipe of less is more, with lightweight construction, few options, stiffened-up suspension, and big wheels and tires. At its heart was a 3.8-liter M64/20 flat-6 rated at 300 horsepower, and it was connected only to a six-speed manual. If that wasn’t enough for you, there was an even more hardcore Clubsport model. Porsche made a total of just over 1,100 of these cars, so they’re far more rare than the later models – but they’re also twice as rare as the prior 964-generation RS, and even more dear than the original RS. They were of course never imported to the US, but one’s up for sale here – if you’re feeling quite spendy:
The Porsche 928 introduced radical new styling in the late 1970s, but the power wasn’t really all that outrageous in typical 70s style. The US-spec car produced 219 horsepower from its 4.5-liter V8, which was respectable but also far short of the 930 output. US cars didn’t receive a bump in power until well into the 1980s and the S model’s introduction. However, in Europe cars got a healthy 10% more power early on for performance more in line with the looks, and for good measure Euro cars were about 100 lbs. lighter than US versions. Today’s example is a manual variant that has some nice upgrades:
