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As ’80s-All-Things-M-Mania’ has continued, getting into a clean E28 M5 is increasingly difficult – and expensive. Decently clean original M5s now start around $30,000 and can head up from there, with really exceptional examples selling for $50,000 or more. Didn’t this used to be the “cheap” M? Those days have passed and don’t show signs of returning soon.
What’s an enthusiast to do? Well, you could build your own. It’s not cheap or easy, but hey – if you’re in it to win it, why not see if you can source all the parts yourself? Or (and this is a much better option…) you buy one that has already been converted to M-specs. To maximize your investment, look for one with a rare set of parts attached, and preferably in European guise. Luckily, today we don’t have to look too far:
Update 8/1/18: According to the seller, the car was stolen in the Chicago-area yesterday. See the updated ad here for information.Â
There are cars from the 1980s, then there are cars that are so 1980s that you’d think they are an actual parody of the decade and just dressing up for a 1980s themed party that one of your friends is having on a Saturday night. As you might have noticed, one of these cars is the Mercedes-Benz 560SEC by German tuner ABC Exclusive. ABC Exclusive was one of the many tuners in the 1980s that pumped out crazy creations from workshops in Europe only to fade away after the money dried up only leaving behind a handful of their creations. We actually featured a BMW E24 6-Series a few years ago by them and it was just as outrageous as today’s car. Most of the time, cars like these are in pretty rough shape by now thanks to the liberal use of fiberglass and body filler, but this 1986 seems to have survived the test of time. Now that cars like these are actually old enough to be retro and cool, would you pony up the cash this C126 is expected to bring?
How do you take one of the Porsche’s best performance values and make it even better? You send it to…RUF? To be honest that would not have been the answer I’d have thought was correct. A RUF conversion isn’t exactly a cheap enterprise to undertake so while the performance and overall appeal certainly will be increased those improvements typically come with a significant increase in price. Such does not appear to be the case with this 2001 Porsche 911 Turbo, which in 2012 was converted to RUF RTurbo specs.
Granted we are a few years down the road and pricing for a RUF conversion always has been significantly lower than for one with a true RUF VIN so perhaps it does make sense that the pricing here seems quite reasonable relative to the performance. But in a world where we frequently see a 996TT with the X50 package priced higher than this (with the caveat that those are asking prices and not necessarily selling prices) I think this one represents kind of a nice bargain.
It also looks phenomenal. Ordered in paint-to-sample Bugatti Strong Blue and then enhanced by the various RUF additions, this 996TT stands well apart from others of its kind. I’m not sure if this sort of lighter, non-metallic, blue will appeal to everyone, but it most definitely is unique. I happen to love it!
If some is good, more is better. A lot of times that is true, sometimes it is not. Thankfully, that saying applies when talking about V12 Mercedes-Benz. One of the most common modifications to the M120 V12 is taking that 6.0 liter and increasing the displacement to a 7.0, 7.2, 7.3 or even crazier 7.4. AMG was known to do this in small batches as well as other aftermarket tuners. One of those aftermarket tuners was Renntech. They would pump these up to 7.0 liters as well as modify other things like camshafts and surrounding parts. The result was somewhere over 500 horsepower and a price tag to make anyone do a double take. Today, we have a one of those 7.0 liter conversions up for sale in Kentucky in this 1994 SL. Even better, there are some AMG goodies on this car as well.
I’m not sure I know where to begin. There is A LOT going on with this 911 and, in this case, that’s a good thing. I first saw this 1989 Porsche 911, modified by RAUH-Welt Begriff and Turbo Kraft, on Rennlist near the end of last year. It looked great and I actually thought it might sell pretty quickly even with its very high price. It had all the right attributes to attract the right sort of attention for what is a pretty over-the-top machine. Then I didn’t see it for a while so I thought it had sold. Lo and behold it had not sold so this time I wanted to take a closer look.
RAUH-Welt Begriff can be pretty divisive among 911 enthusiasts. Not only are Akira Nakai’s designs pretty wild, but many of his creations entirely consist of cosmetic modifications. They are cars that hearken back to many of Porsche’s early race cars with huge power, preposterously wide rear fenders, and massive wings all designed to keep the rear tires firmly glued to the ground. That sort of design in a road car isn’t always appealing and when there isn’t enough grunt to back up the looks the appeal is lessened further. However, there are exceptions; there are builds that possess the wildness of RWB’s designs AND the power to go along with it. This RWB is one such machine. The claims: 600 horsepower, 2,400 lbs. I don’t think outright performance will be an issue.
