It’s T-time! Brace of Mercedes-Benz 200Ts offered for sale

Mercedes’ first estate car, the 200T, pioneered not only every Mercedes station wagon to this day, but also the ever-popular European estate-car segment…

The successful W123 series still proves exceptionally popular today, especially in classic car circles. Introduced at the 1977 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Touring model – Mercedes’ first station wagon – played a pioneering role in defining the ‘lifestyle’ segment that has become so vital to the European car industry. 

The ‘T’ in the name stood for Touring and Travel

The first ‘proper’ estate with a star on the bonnet possessed characteristics that quickly won over the public, making it a real must-have: namely the vast space in the boot, covered in exquisite velvet carpet, rendering the saloon and coupé models practically pointless. Why wouldn’t you choose the wagon? The ‘T’ in the name stood for Touring and Travel, distancing it from the rest of the model range and pitching the car directly at busy families in need of a car for every situation. 

Elegant space-saving

With the rear seats folded flat, there’s even more whopping great volumes of bootspace – and those fine chrome rails on the roof aren’t there just to look pretty: more luggage can be hefted around up there, too. It is this well-coordinated mix of practical space and elegant appearance which makes the 200T so popular. Top-condition examples are becoming increasingly rare, and prices reflect that. Hallier Classic Cars is offering these two exceptional four-cylinder 200Ts for sale. Their durability and strength mean they should remain tight as a drum, regardless of what you throw at them. Besides, in a 200T, no matter how tough the journey is, you’ll always arrive in style.

Photos: Jan Richter

More classic W123 Mercedes-Benz E-Classes are available in the  Classic Driver Market.

Goddesses of art: The craziest Citroën creations

Although many would argue that the DS was an objet d’art in itself, some have attempted to further its artistic appeal – with varying degrees of success, as you will see…

Of course, it’s BMW that’s famous for its art cars – but it’s a wonder that the idea wasn’t pioneered by a French manufacturer, given the country’s fondness for flair and fancies.

Floating, flying and fishing

While taking a closer look at the crazy Franco-Germanic collaboration that is the Porsche DS, we also examined some other DS-based ‘Goddesses of Art’. Along with various ‘floating’ interpretations (created both officially and by third-party artists), the Land Cruiser-based off-roader and laterally spliced single-seater versions caught our collective eye.

Photos: Citroën/various

SEMA Spotlight: A Copper-Plated Stude

The SEMA Show is an assault on the senses. The long hours, bright lights and endless walking wear you down and make it tough to appreciate the thousands of cars on an individual level. For this reason I’ve learned to follow this one tactic when looking for the cars that really count: instead of trying to analyze each and every one of them, I try to take a broader view and see what calls out to me.

It’s the car that makes you take a hard right turn and skip a couple of rows because you must see it now. This time it was a slammed bullet nose Studebaker with some surprising choices of finish.

I want to start by pointing out that this car was in the Kicker Audio booth. This is noteworthy because typically car audio demo vehicles feature over the top, bragging rights-style installations, but not this time. Even while showcasing Kicker’s latest hardware, the Studebaker can (and likely will) hold its own on a show circuit.

A slammed stance goes a long way towards making anything look good, and the Raymond Loewy-designed sheetmetal was begging for it in this case. The choice of car was bold to start with, and the outside the box thinking continued with big-inch wires, painted bumpers and copper instead of chrome. This is the kind of build that can start a trend or two.

Of course the copper theme continues inside along with a blend of modern and traditional. I’ve seen diamond stitching in everything from Ferraris to Scions this week and here it is again, working quite well. The steering wheel is a classic ’40 Ford, but the center console holds audio and air ride controls.

Some interesting finish choices can be seen at the front too. I thought painted headlight rings and bumpers were only trendy in the ’80s but they really work here. Copper plating the bullet nose grille was an absolute must since it’s the most defining feature of a ’50-51 Studebaker.

Apparently Suzy also took a liking to the Studebaker and has already scheduled a full feature in the next couple of months, so stay tuned as we learn the rest of the details and plan a photoshoot for this amazing build.

Keith Charvonia

Custom, concept and one off motorcycles @EICMA 2013

As usual at EICMA there were loads of wicked Custom and one off bikes. From nice and refined, to outright crazy. Below are 36 photos of them.

What where these Caterham guys thinking??? The bikes share none of the brands core values. The are Interesting, yes, but pretty wack. While their cars are all about the driving experience, these are not bikes for any kind of riders I know. They should speak to Gerald Kiska about brand consistency if they want to make some proper bikes!

Pretty sick Harley.

A BMW engine with some Duke plastics??

Funily enough, my first ever motorcycle at the age of 4 was an orange Italjet scrambler. Not much resemblance to anything they had on display though!

Touratech BMW Rallye.

BMW R 90s concept.

Husqvarna 701 concept.

Yard built yamaha’s.

Deus Yamaha

- See more at: http://derestricted.com/design/custom-concept-and-one-off-motorcycles-eicma-2013#sthash.9NqZRb9i.dpuf