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Tag: Turbocharged

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1995 Audi S6

We’re a fickle crowd, automobile enthusiasts. We’ll sit around critiquing cars all day long; what we would or wouldn’t have done, and where the current seller has stepped up or fallen short. Without knowing the whole story, we’ll question motivation, driving habits, cleaning regiments or part choices. Piece by piece, we’ll pick apart what often isn’t an unreasonable asking price for a used car, spending money that isn’t ours and making bold claims about how little we would pay for such a ride. But for those of us who have gone through attempting to rebuild a vehicle to a high standard or return a car to stock form, it’s a little easier to be objective when viewing an asking price on what is a pristine example of a rare car. Simply put, there’s a balance between buying an example that fits the “wants” – you “want” a perfect, pristine, low mile, low owner count maintained car, but you “want” to spend as little as you can. Let’s take a look at a car with a serious fan following in seriously good condition and break it down – in this case, it’s a pristine 1995 Audi S6:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 Audi S6 on eBay

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Future or Now? 1998 993 Carrera 4S v. 2007 997 Turbo

This past weekend I caught a bit of the Mecum Auction action, and I was pretty stunned to see a fairly new 993 Turbo in Arena Red come across the auction block. Generally, when newer metal comes across the block at these auctions, the commentators break to commercial sponsors and don’t really pay attention. But the 911 market is such that this particular 993 – which wasn’t perfect, mind you – hammered for around $170,000 not including fees. The surge in air-cooled prices is amazing, and it seems that there’s a scramble to buy what good examples are left while they’re still affordable. Two cars were sent our way by readers last week that got me thinking more about this; one was the 993 Carrera 4S that you see here from our reader John, and a 2005 996 Turbo S in Signal Green – reportedly 1 of 1 – from our reader Michael. I’ve talked before about how the 996 Turbo is a screaming performance deal right now, and this one-off Turbo S wasn’t too far from the price of the 993 Carrera 4S offered here.

Obviously, despite being very similar cars in many respects the two have very different markets. Those in the 993 market are looking for a rapidly appreciating classic; a well proportioned, ultimate development of the air-cooled days of Porsche when limited production numbers, over engineering and sublime driving experiences ruled the day. Those in the 996 market are looking for the most performance they can buy, and a twin-turbo, all-wheel drive 911 is truly a car that now can be used all year long while lighting your hair on fire every time you hit the loud pedal. Unfortunately, that Signal Green example disappeared before I could get this article up; what I found to replace it might even be more astounding – a 997 Turbo Sport Chrono with less than 40,000 miles on the clock. Nearly a decade separates these two cars and there’s a substantial performance gap as well; which would you choose?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1998 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S on eBay

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Tuner Tuesday: 1986 Porsche 911 Turbo DP 935

Ah, the DP 935. It’s a car that in the world of Porsche generates both enthusiasm and enthusiastic hatred of the modifications. There’s no denying that they were one of the more spectacular modified Porsches in the 1980s, though, and while Duran Duran seems to be playing in my head everytime I see one, I nevertheless love to find them. We last looked at a blacked-out and modified 1986 DP 935 almost exactly a year ago. Today’s model, like the all-black model from last year, is not 100% correct or the full-crazy European-spec slantnose, but the U.S. spec toned down package that retained the original bumpers. Also like that car, this example has non-original wheels and an engine rebuild/refresh. Is it the one to buy?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1986 Porsche 911 Turbo DP 935 on eBay

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1980 Porsche 924 Turbo

Two events transpired yesterday that, for me, relate to this car. First, I was watching some of the Mecum auction action, and a low mile Porsche 993 Turbo in Arena Red came across the block. I watch in semi-horror as this modern Porsche crested $170,000 quickly. Now, I’m sure to someone that car is worth $170,000 – and speculation will probably continue to drive prices on the last of the air-cooled cars higher – but to me, that market is just absolutely insane and in need of a serious correction. The second event was that I took my very much not-perfect, not low mile and fairly compromised Audi for a drive down the road. The suspension is set to punish, the heat is stuck on, there’s no radio, and it smells vaguely of mold; I smiled all the way. Do you need a perfect car to just enjoy a drive? No, I don’t think you do. Would I have felt better if my car was an absolute pristine 100 point Sport Quattro? No, I think I’d be afraid to drive it, honestly. That’s what makes second-tier cars so appealing. The values aren’t high enough that you’re afraid to purchase or drive them, but they’re still special enough to give you a smile when you take them out. Driving down the road, not many people know what my Audi GT is anymore, and I’m okay with that. I imagine the same feeling occurs for Porsche 924 Turbo owners:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1980 Porsche 924 Turbo on eBay

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Tuner Tuesday: 1985 Porsche 930 Andial 3.5

When it comes to 1980s Porsche tuners, the immediate name that pops into enthusiasts’ minds is Ruf. And for road cars, certainly the Yellowbird set the tone for performance tuned cars and remains legendary today. In the shadows of Ruf’s imposing figure, though, were smaller firms such as Andial. Andial worked in tandem with Porsche Motorsports to run many of the customer racing program cars such as the 935, 956 and 962. This gave them some serious credentials and notoriety for building impressive cars. Some of those Andial-built motors ended up in road-going Porsches, such as this 3.5 liter converted 930:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1985 Porsche 930 on eBay

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