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

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

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

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

This week I have spotted a stunning, high spec Nissan Skyline R32 on Pistonheads and just had to have it as car of the week. I have had a thing for R32 Skylines for a while now, i love the look of a subtly styled R32 and can’t help but appreciate the technology underneath what is now an 18 year old car.

the R32 Skyline was created back in 1989 as a road-going race car designed by Nissan to win. The car was created for the Japan Touring Car Championship in group A, because of this Nissan had to make a full production version for the road and so the Nissan Skyline R32 was born.

The R32 features ATTESA E-TS 4wd system which was well before its time. The system works similarly to the new Golf R32 system as when the front end starts to loose grip an electronic multi-plate clutch feeds more power to the wheels from between 0-50% depending on the slip and lateral G-force. so as you start lose the car you get more 4wd so you gain more grip. The R32 also includes a 4 wheel steer system that delivers small counter steer movement to the rear wheels.

The power plant of the R32 is a twin turbo 2.6 litre 24 valve straight 6 pumping out 280bhp @ 6800rpm. With a weight of 1430kg and 4wd a standard R32 Skyline would see 60mph in only 5.6 second, which is still fast by today’s standards.

The R32 Skyline that i have picked out has seen quite a lot of work and has motor-sport inspired styling traits while still keeping a lot of the original style of the car. The car was built by Top Sercret in Japan and remapped by Tweenie Rob from TR Racing. I won’t list the spec of the car just because it would fill up most of the page, but the bottom line is the car has been built to a very high spec and standard and must be pushing out some very impressive figures. Enjoy the pics…

Nissan Skyline R32

Nissan Skyline R32 Side

Nissan Skyline R32 Rear

Nissan Skyline R32 Engine Bay

This week I am righting about a type of car that i almost bought a couple of years ago, but instead I bought a VW Corrado G60 and ended up spending around £5k on it after it blew up, but that’s another story all together.

The Audi S2 was the follow on to the hugely successful Audi Quattro rally car of the 80′s, featuring the same style 2.2 20v 5 cylinder engine that made the road going coupes so very distinctive. The S2 can be found with two different engines, the early cars have the 2.2 20v 220bhp 3B version which came with a 5 speed box and the later cars came with a 2.2 20v 230bhp ABY engine with a 6 speed box. The differences between the two version continues to other pieces of trim and performance with the 220bhp 3B cars seeing 60mph 0.2 seconds faster then the more powerful ABY cars with a time of 0-60 in  5.7 seconds.

The car i have picked out is a coupe version of the car, which is slightly quicker then the Avant versions, but I personally think that the estate Avant S2′s are extremely cool. Once again the car is currently for sale on Pistonheads and is very well priced for such a great car.

This S2 is a ABY 1994 car in Emerald Green metallic paint with full black leather interior. The car has done 128k miles but it comes with full Audi service history and has a huge spec list of work done. The work done to the car is impressive and consists of a new race exhaust, H&R lowering springs, Audi S8 wheels, low compression head gasket, SR2 Turbo, Porsche brake upgrade (common mod on these cars) HID headlights and boost gauge. The car is currently running 309bhp but i would say that with some more tweaks to the spec (RS2 intercooler and inlet) with a remap some big power could be achieved quite easily.

The car is currently advertised for £4750, which considering the spec is pretty good.

There are several S2′s on Pistonheads at the moment with varying prices from £2.5k to upwards of £5k. These are rare, fast, underappreciated cars which are very cheap at the moment. If you are in the market for a car between £3k-5k I would seriously advise looking at an Audi S2.

Audi S2 Coupe

Audi S2 Coupe

Audi S2 Coupe Rear

I found this car last week about 5 minutes after i posted about the Mercedes 190E Costworth that I found on Pistonheads and I knew that I just had to feature it as COTW. The car is a stunning example of the legendary first M3 made in the 80 ‘s. The car that has caught my eye is one of the best examples of the E30 M3 i have ever seen, with no expense spared in its up keep over the years and with all of the ‘right’ bits and pieces to make this car truly mint.

The M3 in question is a 1990 Jet black M3 Evolution, with only two UK owners since the import from Germany. As all other E30 M3′s the car is left hand drive, but you can’t let that put you off, as this only adds to the driving experience. The car has only 206333km on the clock (128k miles) with full service history to back it up.

The car is immaculate, the paint has been fully detailed so that you can see your perfect reflection in it, with no dents to spoil those timeless lines.  As i said, there has been no expense spare with this M3, with a new BMW fitted engine entering the car around 25k miles ago (due to an error when BMW fitted a recon head) and a stainless exhaust being fitted to replace the old standard one. Like the rest of the car the engine bay is spotless and looks like you could eat your dinner off it.

The interior of the car too looks like it did when the car left the factory. The black and red high back Recaros feature no wear or tear at all, and look just stunning in the car. The steering wheel is said to have ‘some wear’ but at least this shows that the car has been driven, unlike some other cars of this standard.

Enough of me talking about the car, enjoy these amazing photos.

BMW E30 M3

BMW E30 M3 trees

BMW E30 M3 Engine Bay

BMW E30 M3 Interior

This week I would like to pay tribue to a Cosworth. No, no, not one of those flared arched, whale tailed rusting heaps that are so very sought after by the baseball cap wearing ‘street racers’ (though I have a feeling that they Escort Cosworth is becoming a much cooler car then it has been in the past). The Cosworth i am talking about is the Mercedes 190E Cosworth. The 190E Cosworth is no where near as well known as its Ford cousin, but it too had the ‘wiz-kids’ at Cosworth to play with its 2.5 litre 4 cylinder 16v engine to a healthy 204bhp with 177 ft·lb of torque (this was the 80′s remember, that was good).

Though the 190E Cosworth enjoyed a what were to considered to be good power figures, the curb weight of 1320kg meant a power to weight ratio of only 155bhp/ton, reducing the 0-60 time a quick but far from amazing 7.7 seconds.

The Mercedes Cosworth may not have been the fastest car when it was built, but it did have excellent balance with very good chassis and suspension set-up, making the 190E handle like a dream.

There were not many 190E Cosworth Evolutions made, making finding a good example difficult and pricey, but i have notice a stunning example of the car on Pistonheads at the moment for £19,950. If you are looking for a retro cool late 80′s car with RWD that gives you loads of fun in the twisty bits then the Mercedes 190E Cosworth maybe perfect for you (certainly better then a used van). Take a look at the one for sale to see what i mean.

Mercedes 190e Cosworth Evolution

Mercedes 190e Cosworth Evolution rear

Mercedes 190e Cosworth Evolution side

Mercedes190e Cosworth Evolution interior

Mercedes 190e Cosworth Evolution engine bay

]]> http://www.motoring-news.co.uk/2010/01/13/car-of-the-week-mercedes-190e-cosworth-evo/228/feed 3 http://www.motoring-news.co.uk/2010/01/04/car-of-the-week-audi-quattro/205 http://www.motoring-news.co.uk/2010/01/04/car-of-the-week-audi-quattro/205#comments Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:47:10 +0000 Christ http://www.motoring-news.co.uk/?p=205 After a nice long Christmas break Car of the week is back and boy is it a good one this week.

This week i have spotted a truly unique car for sale. The car has had thousands spent on it iver the last few years and is extremely rare to boot. I will normally try and make the car of the week post feature a car that most people will be able to go out and buy if they were looking for a new car, but this week i just couldn’t resist featuring this amazing machine.

This weeks car is a 1984 Audi Quattro Sport, with only one owner from new and a full factory restoration. As well as being one out of only 214 Quattro ‘shorties’ that were ever built, the car has been sent back to Audi with a huge list of  customisations to restore and modernise the 26 year old car.

Even though the engine had only covered 21,000km the engine was totally rebuilt and upgraded to 350bhp with new RS6 brakes fitted to handle to new power. Audi also fitted a new power steering system to the car to make it easier to drive. The car was also treated to a full respray, changing the colour of the car from blue to black. Other changes include a new full leather interior with Recaro front seats, a leather trimmed dash, suede roof lining and a high quality hi-fi system. The modifications were homologated by the German and the French homologation service.

This Quattro has been fully modernised and is probably one of the best examples of this very rare car you will ever find. Saying that, i do feel slightly sad that such a rare car has been changed so much, but from the outside it seem as nothing as changed from the day it rolled out of the factory, with the same aggressive boxed arches and flat snout as Audi intended.

The car is currently for sale on carclassic.com and can be seen in Paris. For those of you looking to buy such a stunning example of an Audi Quattro, this one will set you back a measly 165,000 EUR (£146,537). Bargain!

Audi Quattro Sport

Audi Quattro Sport side

Audi Quattro Sport engine bay

Audi Quattro Sport leather seats

Audi Quattro Sport trimmed dash

For the first installment I thought i would go with a VW, as i am a bit of an enthusiast and commonly fond myself on VW forums and on the bay looking for mk1, mk2 Golf for sale. Today i came across a stunning show car up for sale on eBay and just had to share (and promote) the car.

The car is being sold by Paul from DemonVW and is one of the most complete mk1 Golfs you will ever find. The car includes a completely custom leather interior in cream and brown, airride suspension and has been resprayed in Porsche brown with a smoothed engine bay sporting a fully polished 1.8 8v (GTI) engine. The car has many focal point, but the colour coded Steffan RS (14×8) wheels and early small chrome bumpers really set the car off perfectly.

With a price tag of £11,950 its not the cheapest of mk1′s on the market, but the amount of work and attention to detail that has been put into this car i am not surprised by its price at all.

Check out the eBay listing for more specs and pics.