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Tag: V8

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1990 Audi V8 quattro

I have a fun ongoing exchange with our reader John; we send each other pretty much every V8 quattro that comes to the market in the U.S., usually accompanied by some brutally honest and laughable one-liner. Considering the number of V8 quattros imported – less than 4000 – and that they were both expensive and a DTM star, they would have been coveted like the rest of the Audi lineup. Yet, many have fallen into extreme disrepair or neglect, leaving precious few left running today and making good ones a rare find. For example, recently John sent me a pretty worn Pearlesant White ’93 model with the line: ” ‘cheap’ and haven’t seen it before, but that’s about it”. I responded that I’d done the “cheap” V8 route before, and that were I to do it again I would have been better off spending three times as much to get a maintained example. The V8 is truly a car that could bankrupt you trying to restore a poor one to original condition. However, if you find a reasonable example that’s well priced, is it a better proposition?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1990 Audi V8 quattro on eBay

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2008 BMW M3

Four doors, three pedals and eight cylinders. Is there a more exciting combination for an enthusiast when it comes to a daily driver? Honestly I can’t think of one and of the small group of modern cars to offer this configuration, I’d say the E90 M3 is the top dog. In this modern age of turbocharged everything, it is highly unlikely that we’ll ever see another car like this one. A useable back seat and trunk mated with a 4.0L V8 already sounds old school and we’re only seven years on from when the car was initially offered. When BMW announced the whole M3/M4 plan and the news that the new cars would have a turbocharged six-cylinder, I wasn’t surprised. It’s just how things are going these days. The sports car market is completely over-saturated with vehicles that will surely delight their drivers but will they offer the same visceral connection as their predecessors? I don’t think so but ultimately that is for each of us to decide on our own. What I can say with absolute confidence is that the E90 M3 market is rapidly moving in a very wallet friendly direction, great news for those of us who prefer a screaming V8 soundtrack to the artificially enhanced aural experience of a boosted inline-6.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2008 BMW M3 on Cars.com

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Tuner Tuesday: 1985.5 Porsche 944 with LS1 swap

Engine swaps are a popular topic of conversation here at GCFSB. From early examples of the BMW 3 series with late model inline-6 swaps to Volkswagen Campers with Subaru lumps hiding out back, the possibilities are endless. Another trend has been V8 swaps into the venerable Porsche 944. This Porsche 944 comes to us via our friends at BlythBros. It’s not a purebred V8 Porsche like the 928, but one glance at this tuned-up 944 and you’d have a hard time believing it wouldn’t be a hoot to drive.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1985.5 Porsche 944 LS1 swap on Craiglist Detroit

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1978 Mercedes-Benz 450SLC Euro-spec

By 1978, the C107 was fairly long in the tooth. It wasn’t so much that it was an antiquated design; sure, it was 7 years old but let’s not forget that the R107 convertible version would soldier on for another amazing 10 years, meaning it was one of the longest lived Mercedes-Benz chassis ever. But the personal coupe had two issues – one was from within, with a new big coupe launching in the early 1980s in the W126 chassis. The much more modern C126 effectively negated the purpose of the C107. But the real issue was the competition from BMW, and more importantly Porsche – both of which managed to thoroughly out-class the sports coupe. The E24 was a much more modern and sporty car; though it had a smaller inline-6 motor and no V8 was available, the E24 was several hundred pounds lighter than the C107 and much more of a sporty coupe. But the real revolution was Porsche’s new front-engined Grand Tourer, the 928. Porsche managed to get both more power and more sport out of its interpretation of the GT car, making the C107 seem decidedly dated in comparison. Now a few generations on, finding clean 6s from the 1970s is near impossible in the U.S., and while there are 928s out there, rightly or wrongly they have a certain reputation as complicated cars that are hard to keep running correctly (or, at very least, quite expensive to). The result? The C107 may be the best 1970s personal sports coupe value these days:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1978 Mercedes-Benz 450SLC on eBay

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2009 Audi S5

As depreciation continues to work its wonderful magic, there are a number of excellent cars falling into the sub $30k range which is the cap of what I consider to be reasonable at this point in my life. If you’ve got $30k to spend on a car then then the field is wide open, E90 M3s, 987 Caymans and the B8 S5 are all options. At that price point they’re most likely not the garage queen you dream of but clean, mechanically solid examples with relatively low miles are out there. I think this particular car is one of those examples, and with just under 70k on the clock it looks to have been well cared for. I guess that’s what starting life as a corporate fleet vehicle in California will do for a car.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2009 Audi S5 On eBay

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