1987 BMW M6

Tony’s Take: In 2015, I bought a first gen BMW M6 from my man Gaston at the The Barn Miami for $36k. Caps lock time. I LOVED THAT CAR! I drove the M6 for a year before I sold it. Seven years later, a low-mileage great condition right color full service history example of what Car & Driver called The Granddaddy of the Modern M Car brings $80k. And why not? Think of the M6 as a Mercedes SL that changed its diet, went to the gym and hired Mickey Goldmill as its trainer. Speaking of cinematic classics . . .

The BMW M6 is more than fast and agile enough to outrun a 80’s station wagon or a cocaine-crazed cop. The roundel’s Motorsports Division tweaked the M88 twin cam 3.5-liter six to crank-out 256 hp at 6500 rpm.

M shortened the standard car’s springs, added Bilstein shocks and recalibrated the anti-roll bars. You have to climb the rev range to proceed at speed – zero to sixty in 6.1 – but the sounds coming from under the hood as you row through the Getrag five-speed are a pleasure. That said . . .

The BAT Beemer has been breathed on to add oomph and improve handling, including “a larger front anti-roll bar than the standard E24” and a Dinan ECU Chip (increases horsepower and torque, raises the rev limit and removes governor).

The set-up may indicate that the M6 was ridden hard and put away wet. [NB: “service records” is not the same as “full service history.”] Anyway, this Cinnabar Red over Beige M6 is a solidly-built stunner. A rare U.S. car that racked-up 2500 miles per year over the last 35 years. Not a collector car per se, but a solid buy for the right price. Downside: hard riding.