Tag: touring

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2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring

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I wanted to swing back to the GT3 Touring market after seeing the example a few weeks ago get snapped up quick, along with a 1,000-mile example sell for way over sticker. Even with the 992 GT3 finally breaking cover as the worst secret ever, it is looking like the 991 GT3 Touring will be the one to have and to hold. Still, this is a gamble to pay over sticker price with the expectation that the price will always hold at that. Especially considering there is talk of a 992 GT3 Touring in 2023 with a traditional manual gearbox. Still, this is Miami Blue we are talking about. Worth rolling the dice?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring on eBay

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2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring

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Last week’s Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 was about as close as you can get for an instant classic. I highly doubt any of them ever traded under sticker and probably never will. Is that typical? No, not even for 911s. They are simply too many of them and people always want new things. However, this is a newer 911 that while maybe won’t double in price, they sure don’t seem to be straying too far from sticker price. Hello, GT3 Touring.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring on eBay

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2001 BMW 540i Sport Wagon

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The E39 continued and expanded the 5-series wagon’s popularity by bringing bigger wheels, more power and updated looks to the mid-range Audi-challenger. Like the first generation, these were only available in rear-wheel drive in the U.S., so matching the all-wheel drive variants available from…well, everyone else, required a very good looking and potent package. BMW pulled that off, with the Sport versions of both the 528i and 540i wagons thoroughly encapsulating the ethos of the great Euro five doors.

But there was a catch.

If you wanted a manual gearbox, you had to select the lower output 528i model. For all its shouty V8-ness, the 282 horsepower 4.4 liter M62-equipped 540i only came with BMW’s Steptronic if you needed to haul ass and a family. Still, they’re highly sought packages and this has to be one of the nicer examples left out in the wild, or so it would seem at first glance:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 BMW 540i Sport Wagon on eBay

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1992 BMW 525tds Touring

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The story behind BMW’s foray into diesel power in the U.S. was pretty interesting. BMW had developed the M21 2.4 liter turbocharged inline-6 diesel in the 1970s with fuel prices rising; it finally launched in the early 1980s with the E28 524td. But you probably best know that motor for its appearance in mid-80s American iron; an attempt by Ford to improve the fuel economy of its large executive Lincoln Continental. The marriage didn’t work; although the M21 was a good motor (especially when compared to GM’s diesel!), gas prices were falling and the economy was recovering by the time it finally came to market. But since BMW went through the effort to get the M21 legal for U.S. shores, they brought the 524td over here, too. It was a slow seller in the E28 lineup; equipped only with an automatic, BMW dealers shifted 3,635 of the diesels.

No surprise, then, that when the E34 launched, the diesel didn’t come back with it. Though the U.S. market didn’t see the M21 in the lineup though it soldiered on. The M21 was replaced in 1991 by a new version, the M51. Now displacing 2.5 liters and with an intercooler in “s” version, the 525tds upped the power from the 114 seen in the 524td to 141 and it had 192 lb.ft of torque at only 2,200 rpms. This motor carried BMW’s diesels through the 1990s, and was available in everything from the 3-series to the 7-series.

So it’s a bit of a treat to see the M51 in North America. It’s more of a treat to see it in a Touring, and in great shape, and hooked up to a manual transmission. And, it has manual sport seats as well. Yes, the want is strong in this one!

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1992 BMW 525tds Touring on eBay

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1995 BMW 320i Touring

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We’ve covered just about every generation of 3-series wagon here, barring new ones. The E30 is most popular to import these days, and the E46 introduced the US market to the idea that BMW made smaller, fun wagons too; but in between, the rest of the world got to enjoy the neat looks of the E36 Touring.

So here we are; it’s 2020, and that means cars that were produced up through November 1995 are a lot easier to procure and import. And that’s exactly what someone did with this Calypso Red Metallic 320i Touring, produced for the UK market in April 1995. Now that it’s here, is it the one to get?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 BMW 320i Touring on eBay

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1997 Alpina B6 2.8 Touring

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While some other aftermarket tuners such as Ruf and Renntech offer turned up versions of the already potent cars, Alpina operates slightly differently – filling in the voids of models not offered by the manufacturer. There are plenty of examples of this, and if often seems to be misunderstood; Jeremy Clarkson’s review of the Alpina Roadster is probably the most notable case. A slower, softer, automatic version of the hardcore roadster certainly doesn’t make a lot of sense at first glance. But what Alpina does is give enthusiasts the opportunity to enjoy the performance that BMW offered in a slightly different package that sometimes outperforms the original platform car. One of the notable missing gaps in the BMW lineup in the mid 90s was a faster version of the E36 Touring; building off the earlier B6 – effectively, Alpina’s 4-door M3 challenger built between 1992 and 1993 with a bespoke engine and typical Alpina upgrades, the company later launched the Japanese-only market B6 2.8 Touring. Produced between 1996 and 1998, only 136 of these small wagons were produced, again utilizing the 240 horsepower bespoke Alpina motor, special wheels and interiors, Alpina’s own body kit, exhaust and suspension. They were available in 3 colors only; red, green, and silver:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Alpina B6 2.8 Touring on eBay

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2000 BMW 540i Touring 6-Speed

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Are you a ‘want your cake and eat it too’ kind of person? If so, you probably appreciate performance wagons. And why not? They offer practicality, are (generally) much more affordable than sports cars, and can literally fly under the radar. With their numbers dwindling in the open market, it’s always a great time to look at one from our past. Enter the E39 Touring.

There were several configurations that the 5-series Touring was available in over the years, but the ‘big stick’ was the 540i with its 286 horsepower M62. Sure, the N54-equipped E61 was faster and available as a manual. But if you wanted a really classic BMW setup, the 540iT was about as good as it got for US-bound BMW wagons. As a result, many have been turned up by their owners and drafted into M5 clones. Such is the case here, with this Sienna Red Metallic E39 sporting a host of Dinan bits, E39 M5 bits, and a 6-speed manual swap for good measure.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2000 BMW 540i Touring 6-speed on eBay

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1992 BMW M5 Touring

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BMWs second generation M5 followed the same recipe as the outgoing E28; manual transmission, rear-drive, howling inline-6 under the hood. But the E34 was far from a copy of the car that was really credited with being the first super sedan. BMW upped with power first with the 3.6 liter version of the S38; though the increase in displacement was a scant 82 ccs, the result was impressive. BMW Motorsport GmbH fit a new cam, a higher compression head, and a new engine management system to yield 311 horsepower at a rev-busting 6,900 rpms. They werent done.

In 1992 M upped the capacity again, this time to just 5 cc shy of 3.8 liters. Even higher compression, a further revision in electronic management, and a few other odds and ends now netted 340 horsepower and 300 lb.ft of torque. Again, they werent done. Perhaps tired of Audi cornering the go-fast-5-door market with their 200 20V Avant, in 1992 BMW launched the M5 Touring. Production began in March 1992 and ran through 1995. All E34 M5 Tourings were left-hand drive 3.8 models, and a total of 891 were produced.

BMW opted not to bring the enlarged motor or the M Touring model to the United States, as the 540i took over the top rungs of North American production. But now legal for importation, these rare Ms have been trickling in:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1992 BMW M5 Touring on eBay

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2019 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring

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Last week I took a look at a very rare Porsche 911 Speedster that seemed to have a little bit of a color crisis. Seriously, after we posted the car the dealer literally altered the color of the car. That car now looks like Voodoo Blue, and I am not sure why. Either way, its not a good look for an official Porsche dealer to be altering or photoshopping the colors of cars for sale. Wanting to wash my hands from all this, I’d thought I’d check out another 991.2 that we actually know what the color is.

This 2019 GT3 Touring up for sale in Australia is painted in a classic 356 color called Meissen Blue. Judging by my fantastic Googling, this isn’t the first time someone has selected paint-to-sample Meissen Blue on a modern 911 or even a 991 GT3. I think the color is wonderful, and apparently do a lot of other people who earn significantly more than I do. Outside of this fantastic paint color, this is a GT3 Touring after all which means a bunch of other custom options that costs a bunch of money.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring at Classic Throttle Shop Australia

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2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring

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Last week I took a look at a paint-to-sample Porsche 911 that was finished in one of the wildest colors I’ve ever seen. There was no mistaking its flat out pink appearance and you weren’t fooling anyone if you tried to say it had a tint of red or purple in it. Today, I thought I’d check out another 911 in a paint-to-sample color, a 2018 GT3 Touring up for sale in Wisconsin. This color was the standard fee of what Porsche charges for custom colors of $12,830 only to have lots of other people decide they want to paint their GT3 this shade as well. What is this color? Viola Metallic. It is very much a silky looking purple that is very light unlike Ultra Violet. So while not off the charts crazy, still pretty wild. You in? If so, bring your checkbook.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring on eBay

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