Motoring News

Its been a little while since I posted a car of the week post, so here goes.

I spotted this very rare 1977 BMW E21 Alpina A1/3 for sale on Pistonheads last week and just had to feature it as a car of the week.

The car is a Alpina version of the E21 320 BMW from the late 70′s and is believed to be one of the first Alpina edition BMW’s. Alpina grabbed the classic E21 3 series car and tweaked it to make it even better. The changes include tuning of the M10 engine by including a set of twin 45mm Solex carburetors giving the car 125bhp. that doesn’t sound much these days with the new M5 BMW pumping out over 500bhp, but the old E21 weights a fraction of that of the new M5 giving it good pace. The M10 engine is mated to the standard 4 speed gearbox, but a LSD feeds the back wheels for better grip in the corners.

Alpina didn’t just stop at the engine, the springs, shocks and anti-roll bars have been changes to help the little classic BMW corner like a true sports car. Alpina also fitted the now famous front and rear splitters to the car to help aerodynamics (and make the car look much more business like).

The car also saw a make over inside with half leather sports seats and a Alpina steering wheel.

The car for sale has been lovely restored with a full respray in the original colours with all of the rust treated and repaired.

The car looks stunning and has only 55,000 miles under its belt.The car still retains all its original handbooks, service book, original Grundig radio and instructions and even the original purchase invoice for DM23,700 from 1977.

BMW Alpina E21 A1/3 classic low front shot.

BMW Alpina E21 A1/3 Front.

BMW Alpina E21 A1/3 Bottom.

Alpina A1/3 M10 Engine

After not posting a car of the week for around a month i have decided to do something a little different this week and post a car that is within most peoples price range, instead of being one of those cars we all wish we could afford (but probably never will).

This week i have found a very nice example of a Series 1 106 Rallye for sale on a forum called retro rides. Retro rides is usually a great place to look for retro projects and older cars needing a bit of love, but this Rallye is far from a work in progress and looks as fresh as it did when it can out of the factory.

The S1 106 Rallye was originally built to  compete in international rallying in the 1400cc class. The car was then homologated into international group N and A rallying class meaning that Peugeot had to produce a certain number of the cars for road use to qualify. 1000 S1 Rallye’s were planned to be imported into the UK but the demand for the little hothatch meant that the number increased to meet demand.

The S1 106 Rallye has a 1.4 XSI engine that produces 100bhp, which is pretty good for a car that weighs 810kg (F1 cars weigh 600kg). The S1 Rallye also benefits from bigger anti-roll-bars for better handling and 247mm ventilated front discs for better braking.

The Pug 106 Rallye in question is a 1994 model with 134k on the clock. there has been some choice work been done on the car in that 134k including a head rebuild in 2010 at a 106 specialists, the fitting of a kent cam, 206 front brakes, lowered suspension and a re-undersealing of the whole car. The car has extensive service history and looks as good as it sounds. The price is £1700, which is pretty good from where i’m sitting.

Someone needs to snap this car up fast, as Peugeot’s of this quality are hard to find, let alone something as rare as an S1 Rallye.

Peugeot 106 rallye S1

Peugeot 106 rallye S1 quarter

Peugeot 106 rallye S1 rear

I haven’t done a car of the weeks for a little while, but I saw this beautiful mk2 Golf for sale today and had to write about it.

The car is a 1991 mk2 Volkswagen Golf Syncro that has a very interesting choice of engine. The 20 year old Golf now enjoys the power plant from an R36 Passat 3.6l line V6 producing  300bhp as standard (but whether the engine in this car is standard I am not sure). Because the car was a Syncro to begin with the 300bhp is not lost through the front wheel like on most big power mk2′s but managed and distributed to the tarmac through a 4WD system. The shell is one of 30 3 door Syncro’s that that were built by VW in metallic black.

The car does not only have a very interesting engine choice but it also includes a one of a kind custom leather interior and one off ’7 times chromed BBS RS wheels’. Very few BBS RS’s are chrome as it is very difficult and expensive to get the chrome to stick to the aluminium, but repeated treatment seems to work extremely well.

Now, I know the car is rare, with an engine conversion that is probably the only one of its kind (at least for now) but the price is more then surprising. This amazing car will set you back a staggering £20,000.

Enjoy the pics (tissues at the ready for Dub fans).

Mk2 Golf R36 Money Shot

Mk2 Golf R36 Rear

Mk2 Golf R36 Interior

Mk2 Golf R36 Engine

This weeks car of the week gets mixed comments from different people depending on who you talk to, but I can get enough of the front engined rear wheel drive late 80′s Porsche.

Comment negative comments run along the lines of  ”Its not a real Porsche” and “the engines in the wrong place” but the 944 is a great sports car and can now be picked up for a very reasonable price.

There are a number of different engine options for any aspiring 944 owner to choose from. The base model is the 2.7 4 cylinder that produces 165bhp and sprints to 60 in a slightly sluggish 8.2 seconds. The 2.7 version also came with a automatic gearbox, which i wouldn’t recommend due to the box being slow to respond adding over a second to the 0-60 time, raising it to 9.4 second. Porsche’s just shouldn’t be that slow. The 944 S2 came with a 3.0l 16v 4 cylinder engine  delivering 210bhp (very healthy for the early 90′s) and because the car only weights 1350kg the S2 is propelled to 60 in only 6 seconds. The S2 is not the most powerful 944 sold, that title goes to the 944 turbo. With a 2.5l 4 cylinder turbo charged engine pumping out 250bhp to the rear wheels the 944 Turbo streaked to 60 in 5.6 seconds and will run a standing 1/4 mile in just 13 seconds.

The car that i have chosen is a very tidy Porsche 922 S2. though the S2 is the middle model of the three above, I think that it is the best for performance vs value. I found this 944 S2 on pistonheads and its the 3.0 litre, 16v, Late bridge spoiler model and was first registered Nov ’91. The car is completely standard and looks to have been looked after very well. The car includes a full service history from a mixture of both Porsche and an independent garage.

The car has done 123k miles and is currently for sale for £4,250. I think you’ll agree that for just over 4k that’s a hell of a lot of car foe the money. I wish i wasn’t saving for a house at the moment, or this may very well have been on my shopping list for some weekend fun. Here’s some pictures of the cars to wet your appetites.

Porsche 944 S2 front

Porsche 944 S2 Rear

Porsche 944 S2 Interior

Porsche 944 S2 Engine

Porsche 944 S2 Wheels