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Tag: Turbo

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Tuner Tuesday: 1985 Volkswagen GTI Callaway Turbo with 34,000 Miles

It’s always a bit of a surprise when something unique and special from the mid-80s VW catalog comes along. Pre-16V GTIs are pretty hard to find in decent shape. But Callaway Turbo models with period BBS body kit and low miles? When I came across this listing you could say it wasn’t the only forced induction. Callaway was the American tuner of the 80s, building supercar-slaying twin turbo Corvettes that generated almost as much press for their acceleration as their propensity to melt down faster than Chernobyl. But on the less exotic end of the spectrum, Callaway’s turbo kits made VWs pretty potent machines. They switched from K-Jetronic to KE-Jetronic and dropped compression to 7.8:1 by adding a thick head gasket. Then on was bolted a turbocharger generating 10 lbs. of boost, pushing the GTI’s power from 105 to 150 in an instant. This resulted in low 7-second 0-60 times and a higher top speed. Callaway generally outfit his cars well with BBS body kits and wheels, and for good measure a Nissan 300ZX Turbo hood scoop for the intercooler on top of the motor too. They cost a pretty penny; a base GTI was only around $9,000 in 1985, but the turbo system in stage II configuration cost $4,000 and the BBS body kit another $1,000. Pop for some BBS wheels and tires and you were another $2,000 lighter, and some owners went farther with steering wheels, seat and radio upgrades. The result could be over $18,000 and few were sold, but then this GTI would give a more expensive Porsche a run for its money.

Amazingly, we’ve gotten to see a few of these rare GTI Turbos for sale over the past few years. Most recent was the all-white ’87 Neuspeed , but back a bit further we saw a nearly identical ’85 hit over $20,000. This lower mile example is on offer currently for only about half that amount:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1985 Volkswagen GTI Callaway Turbo on eBay

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1995 Audi S6

Update 9/9/18: After being listed as sold at $12,200, this S6 was relisted again with no reserve, ending 9/18/18.

Update 8/27/18: This S6 has been relisted with no change in mileage and again at no reserve.

Update 8/22/18: A second listing was generated for this car, apparently by the previous owner, who claims it had 125K when he sold it and the current seller has forged documentation on the car. This clearly got the attention of eBay, as both listings were pulled. The last bid I saw was $12,200, indicating strong interest in clean examples of the chassis.

Back in the 1990s, the latest release of top-tier executive sedans out of Germany still got me pretty excited. Each generation introduced a bit more power, much more refinement, exciting designs and unorthodox technology. While today even fairly basic economy cars have nearly 200 horsepower, crossing that threshold in the age of grunge actually meant quite a lot. It moved you into a new performance category of sporting automobiles, and the war which was waged between BMW, Mercedes-Benz and relative new comer Audi was at its most compelling during this time. If you wanted race-car pedigree and a high-strung personality, you bought the M5. Now in its second generation and with over 300 horsepower on tap, though larger and more refined it was still the defacto driver’s car bar setter. If you wanted the velvet hammer, you jumped into Mercedes-Benz’s 500E. Topping the power charts for these sedans, it also offered enough torque to reproduce the carrier-launch scenes from Top Gun. And then there was the Audi.

Audi went about things completely differently. It, too, had a race-bred engine, albeit an unconventional one. Still sporting a cast-iron inline-5 levered all the way to the very front of the car longitudinally, drive was transmitted through a 5-speed manual only like the M5, but of course drive was executed by all four wheels. Displacing only 2.2 liters – less than half of the Benz’s power plant – the Audi approached the competition as a serious underdog. But a KKK turbocharger and electronic fuel injection meant 227 horsepower and a wide torque band maxing at 258 lb.ft. Yes, it was down on power to the others, but on the move, over changing terrain and especially in real-world situations, the Audi was just as fast as the beefier competition.

But sales were slow in the early 1990s for Audi, and it didn’t trade many of these expensive sedans. But their extreme competence, stout build quality and ability to easily take on modifications – allowing them to outpace their countrymen – have made these sedans legendary. With a strong fan base, you’d expect a lot of pristine examples out there. But coming across a sleeper like this ’95 happens fairly infrequently:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 Audi S6 on eBay

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1995.5 Audi S6 Avant

Yesterday we took a look at the great C4 Audi S6. Although the turbocharged sedan was down on power to the M5 and 500E, it made up for its deficits with clever all-wheel drive power delivery which made it as fast on the fly and on back roads. But, of course, the real trump card for the C4 over its competition was that it was the sole wagon offered in the class. If the S6 is sought by fans of the chassis, the S6 Avant achieves near God-like status and knee-trembling reactions among the faithful. That means that even a higher-mile, less than pristine example usually will pull similar numbers to a better-condition sedan historically:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995.5 Audi S6 Avant on eBay

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Tuner Tuesday: 2001 Porsche 911 Turbo RUF RTurbo Conversion

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!

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 Porsche 911 Turbo RUF RTurbo Conversion on eBay

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1983 Audi Quattro

There was a point where it was very hard to find a clean Mk.1 GTI anymore, and consequently the values on them rose sharply and quickly. Predictably, the moment that occurred a bunch of really nice examples popped up for sale and have continued to emerge as the car has finally been recognized as a classic. Now, couple that scenario with the racing pedigree of the Quattro and sprinkle in a dash of ///Mania into the mix and you’ve got a recipe for some very expensive cars.

With only 664 originally imported to the U.S. and a fair amount dead, balled up in rally stages or repatriated to the Fatherland, the remaining cars that do emerge generally fall into two categories: well maintained examples that fetch high dollars, or needy chassis for the project-minded enthusiasts. Although today’s car looks quite clean at first glance, it’s not a perfect example. Yet it does sport some very rare (and very polarizing) period Treser bits, a great set of Fuchs wheels and is awesome Helios Blue Metallic. At $25,000 – the lowest price we’ve seen on a recent Quattro auction, is this a deal or a dud?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1983 Audi Quattro on eBay

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