Agreed, I’d prefer a higher-mileage car with plenty of maintenance records and maybe some tasteful improvements to the engine/suspension. At $10K you can start looking at DOHC 944s.

For the ‘88 model the 924 engine was no longer detuned. The ‘88 944 had the same engine. But there are some mods you can do without a huge expense. Mainly, a more aggressive cam, wasted spark ignition, and a new ECU to go along with them.

Yeah, he was way beyond Lutz, more like Toyoda, Ford, or Daimler. A lot of people don’t realize he was also an engine designer himself, having designed the OM five-cylinder diesel for Mercedes-Benz. In terms of management style, though, he behaved a lot like Elon Musk.

That’s an interesting comparison. That Si has barely been used. Meanwhile this RX-2, while faithfully done, is not only a thorough resto, it’s a bitsa.

Not many people remember, but the RX-2 with the 12A was considered Mazda’s best performing package, and to some the RX-2 coupe was more attractive than the RX-3. That’s sort of splitting hairs; pretty much *any* surviving rotary from the ‘70s is going to command a premium based on rarity alone. That’s not so much a…

Well, the last 25 years maybe. Maserati was its own animal until the thing that really made a Maserati a Maserati by that point—the engine—was replaced by a Ferrari unit. Hopefully, the brand can be given a personality again, but these days even the well-established marques have trouble keeping their identities…

Being Aston Martin hasn’t worked even for Aston Martin. I think there’s room for a mid-engine supercar with some actual personality. The Huracan still has it, but the R8 is very long in the tooth while the 911 Turbo and NSX are awfully clinical.

My pet theory is that VW was taking some shine from Maserati, which at the time was still very well regarded and making wind-named cars like the Bora, Khamsin, and Ghibli.

What’s interesting is that most of VW’s current discomfort with the name has less do with France’s checkered history in northern Africa than it does with actions of al-Qaddafi-trained Tuareg rebels in Mali.

Oh absolutely. Tesla’s depreciation is far better than even ICE vehicles.

This just demonstrates how brutal EV depreciation is. Limit your search to MY2017+ and similar mileage and get back to us.

According to another poster the LAPD i3s basically sold instantly. A cursory search of similar i3s around the country shows that these were indeed bargain-priced, even factoring in the paint job.

Yeah, slight NP if it checks out. This is one of Dinan’s better efforts, but $25K seems close to double what a regular S52 Z3M is worth.

Oh it was definitely a factory hot rod, much like the LT-1 cars over at Chevy. The bore-stroke ratio was helpful for revving but for the W-31 the peak power was mostly it was down to valves, semi-blueprinted internals, better balancing, and a very lumpy cam.

It will probably be mentioned by others, but the 270 figure is clearly wrong. This is most likely an ISR3, which means stage 3 for the S52: 396 hp along with about $10-15K worth of improvements to fix the handling issues.

If it’s a real Dinan ISR3, then it has a strut tower brace, camber control, adjustable suspension, and beefier anti-roll bars. Which probably makes it a much better driver at the limit than a regular Z3M. I would still want that area inspected. Also, the power on this more like 390 than 270 so any spookiness in the…

The 270 figure definitely seems wrong. This V2-S kit, called an ISR3 by Dinan, was widely advertised at 396 bhp and 326 lb-ft.

I’m not sure where Rob got this info, but I don’t see 270 in the ad. If this is in fact a Dinan ISR3 (driven by Car and Driver back in the day, so it’s a thing), then it’s kicking out 396 horses and 326 lb-ft of torque.

I think all of the domestic small blocks of that era had a similar ratio. Cheap way to increase rpms and power without increasing piston speed.

Yeah, I don’t see any other Nissan engine that would work, and the VR30DDTT would be positioned below the VR38 in the GT-R. That *might* allow Nissan to sell this thing at a significant discount to a competitor like the Supra. Which would be appropriate since the original Z was 90% of a 2000GT at a bargain price.