Nowadays, finding a decent sports car that keeps the computers to a minimum — and the pedals at exactly three — is becoming increasingly difficult. Today it seems the less you want on your car, the more you have to pay, on top of an already high price tag. Go back a decade or two though, and simplicity was the norm. Sports cars of old had equally hard-to-justify price tags when they were new as well, but now that they’ve been on the secondhand market a few years, they’re a little more tempting. We found a few great examples up for sale, right now, free of frivolous electronics, and only ask that you change the gears yourself.
Here at Gear Patrol, we prefer our cars like we do our watches: analog. Total involvement in the driving experience, getting all your neurons firing, that’s what we call a good time.
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1996 Porsche 911 Carrera
What we like: There’s no getting around that the Porsche 911 has been a great sports car since its inception. Unfortunately the window for affordable Porsches is constantly moving up. That means if you want an analog Porsche at a decent price, the time to pick up a late-’80s-to-’90s model is now. The 993 generation, like this one, still has the 911’s classic styling from the previous generation and none of the electronic complexity of the following.
From the seller: “A well-documented four-owner car, it has been with the seller for 3.5 years and retains its original 3.6-liter engine, mated to a six-speed manual transmission.”
Mileage: 89,048
Location: Denver, Colorado
Bid Now: $23,993
1981 Alfa Veloce Spider
What we like: Styled by Pininfarina. Wooden steering wheel. Wooden shift knob. It doesn’t need much more justification that that. It’s simply beautiful because it’s beautifully simple.
From the seller: “The Spider’s initial design was one of the last works overseen by Pininfarina founder Batista ‘Pinin’ Farina; beautiful shape with a tapering tail to balance its sloping nose with covered headlights. The original Alfa Romeo Spider did everything well. Handling: suspension setup used coil springs and telescoping shock absorbers; unequal-length A-arms at the front and a well-located rear axle.”
Mileage: 51,731
Location: Litchfield, Connecticut
Buy Now: $11,750
2003 BMW M3
What we like: The E46 M3 is the perfect mix of modern BMW performance with early-aughts simplicity. That said, it’s rare to find an M3 in such good, well-kept condition, so when a rare gem like this pops up it shouldn’t be passed over.
From the seller: “All-original, no accidents, always stock and never modified. Adult owned and garaged.”
Mileage: 35,385
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Buy Now: $31,999
1991 Toyota MR2
What we like: The MR2 holds a dear place in our hearts as it probably does Toyota, because it reminds everyone that Toyota used to make fun cars that didn’t suck.
From the seller: “You are looking at a popular Japanese coupe MR2 that has been well kept and maintained. Not many of these are left in such a great shape.”
Mileage: 126,992
Location: Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania
Buy Now: $9,450
1989 Porsche 944 Turbo
What we like: When it was new, it was touted as one of the best-handling cars on the road. Which makes it hard to understand why Porsche hasn’t brought back the 944. A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, two-door hatchback with back seats? What’s not to love?
From the seller: “The car is mechanically stock, and the engine bay appears tidy with factory wiring and hardware. In preparation for sale, the seller had the timing belt service performed with a new belt and rollers.”
Mileage: 126,992
Location: Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania
Bid Now: $11,500
2005 Pontiac GTO
What we like: It was a sleeper when it was new and can still take on some of today’s brand-new performance cars. What’s really curious about the ’04-’05 GTO is that it hasn’t dipped much in price. You could be looking at a solid future-classic car investment — or you could dump the clutch and use that 6.0-liter V8 to smoke the rear tires to hell.
From the seller: “It has been stored in climate-controlled facilities since new.”
Mileage: 846
Location: Spencerport, New York
Bid Now: $26,995
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[Source : http://gearpatrol.com/2016/06/20/sports-car-finds/]
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