Press "Enter" to skip to content
Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.

Tag: Turbo

This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.

Tuner Tuesday Gold Digger: 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet

What is the tipping point in modifying a car? It seems a delicate line which is easily crossed; one that once tripped over pushes the car in question into a free fall from object of desire to ridicule. Obviously, if someone opens up a J.C. Whitney catalog and orders all of the accessories available for their Monte Carlo, it’ll be a bit of a laugh. But what about when the ingredients are all top-dollar, high quality units? Let’s take this 911 for an example and break down the components: at it’s base, this is a 1977 911S Targa, or was. Now, by itself that’s an increasingly valuable commodity – so, it’s a good basis, right? Now it wears an updated 993 wardrobe; they’re a hot commodity, too. And who doesn’t love a cabriolet? Okay, so that’s a lot of people. But some people like them, right? How about the motor, a Ruf modified twin-plug turbo? Wow, put those names together today and you’ve got yourself a retirement plan. And while not the purview of these pages, if you haven’t been following auctions anything with the name Boyd Coddington attached to it has some serious value as well since his death. There has even been a spike in value of classic Recaro seats, and right now brown tones are still totally in vogue. So, with all of these individual bits added together, this car should be worth millions, right?

If you need a reminder that 1970s Porsches weren’t always worth a lot of money, look no further.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet…ish on eBay

15 Comments

Motorsports Monday: 944 Turbo v. M3

If you were to believe the history of Motorsports as told by some E30 enthusiasts, nothing would have existed before the M3 and nothing can compare since. Sure, the M3 was an impressive car and had a long and illustrious career, and in terms of a single type of racing it won more than any other single model has. But was it more dominant than the Porsche 956/962, for example? 8 overall wins at Le Mans is certainly quite impressive in a life that spanned over a decade. Or how about the all-conquering Lancia Delta, which won the WRC Championship for 6 years straight? Or Ferrari’s successive and evolutionary F2002, F2003GA, and F2004 – one of the most dominant streaks in Formula 1 history – the F2004 won 15 out of 18 races and nearly all of the track records it set that year still stand over a decade later. While I’d agree that it doesn’t diminish from the achievement of the E30, I’d argue that it’s not the most impressive achievement in Motorsports history. Still, that winning heritage paid dividends for BMW in the sales and reputation department, and the E30 M3 has become a rocketship still heading towards its apogee. $90,000 for an E30 used to sound laughable, but suddenly it’s the market reality for the limited and low mileage examples. Even track-dog M3s are experiencing a resurgence in value; which raises the question – would you rather have the legend of the M3 or something of racing pedigree from the same generation but with a much higher performance envelope?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 BMW M3 on eBay

2 Comments

10K Friday Colorful Carriers: Vibrant Wagon-off

Did someone say fast 5-doors? Amen! The bells on the Church of the Heavenly 5 Doors are ringing this Friday, and I’ve rounded up a unique quartet of very fast and very colorful wagons to consider, each around or below $10,000. We’ve got 5 turbos, 25 cylinders and 1,200 horsepower worth of people carriers here – which is the winner for you?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 Audi S4 Avant on Denver Craigslist

3 Comments

1987 Mercedes-Benz 300TD

If there was ever a car that looked more at home on the forecourt of a country club, it was the W124 series Mercedes E-class estate. This was a car synonymous with the well-heeled housewives or those summer jaunts to New England beaches. While utilitarian, this is a rather stately machine. Take it to the local market and you would have no problem finding this 300TD amongst the myriad of vanilla, look-alike SUVs jamming the parking lot. This 300TD for sale in British Columbia is a Canadian market car, but given its age of over 25 years, is legal for US importation.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 Mercedes-Benz 300TD on eBay

3 Comments

1985 Mercedes-Benz 300D with 22k miles

After setting eyes on this low mileage 1985 Mercedes-Benz 300D for sale in New Jersey, I thought to myself “this car embodies everything I used to love about Mercedes.” If you asked me right now to sound off the current lineup, I’d struggle to name every model and trim variation, such is the expanse of the product portfolio and my general indifference towards SUVs from any manufacturer. The W123’s life came to a close when there was a fairly simple lineup, although one which expanded with the introduction of the W201 190 class. Few thought the W123, with its larger than life reputation, could be successfully superseded, but the W124 E-class did an admirable job of building an image all its own. Still, however, the W123 is revered amongst the Mercedes faithful with many original and restored examples roaming the streets today. If you’re looking for the best of the best, though, this example pretty much takes the cake.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1985 Mercedes-Benz 300D on eBay

4 Comments