1987 BMW M6

Introduced in '83 and known in its home market as the M635CSi, for 1987 BMW of North America imported the Motorsport-tuned performance version of the E24 6-series coupe as the M6, keeping the name in line with the M3 and M5 already being sold in US showrooms.

This Henna Red example in my neighborhood is just crazy hot. Quite the rara avis, too, as only about 1,677 were imported to the North American market out of a global production run of 5.855.

It used a DOHC version of BMW's 3.5L inline six that put out a claimed 256bhp in US trim at the time, which isn't a lot by modern standards but back then the tuned-port 350 in a 'Vette was only rated at something like 245. The 150+ mph M6 was legitimately big iron in its time, the second fastest production car from BMW up to that point, second only to the M1.

In Car and Driver's testing, it laid down a 14.7 second quarter at 94mph and sprinted to sixty in 6.1 seconds. Slower than the Euro version, due to fewer ponies and big, clunky bumpers, top speed was measured at 144mph. Price as tested was $58,720 in 1987 dollars, which comes to $168k in current money.

The lower two photos were taken with a Nikon D7100 and a 16-80mm f/2.8-4E VR zoom lens in June of 2022, while the upper was snapped in May of 2025 using the same camera and lens.

1999 Honda Prelude

The fifth generation of Honda's sporty Prelude coupe got a light refresh for the 1999 model year, its third one on the market.

A new grille with a small "Prelude" nameplate is the most visible cue, but there were also new colors (Milano Red, like on this example, was one of them) and a horsepower bump under the hood.

The VTEC-equipped H22A4 2.2L 16V inline four now screamed out 200 SAE net ponies at 7,000 revs per minute and, in Motor Trend's testing, powered a 5-speed Prelude SH to sixty in seven seconds flat on the way to a 140mph top speed.

The one in the picture was snapped on an overcast morning in May, using a Pentax K20D and an 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 WR zoom lens.

1992 Buick Regal Gran Sport

The Regal nameplate got its start with Buick as the upmarket personal luxury coupe version of the Century, back in 1973. The second generation debuted in 1978, sharing a platform with the Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, and Cutlass Supreme.

The Regal was a popular coupe and although sedan and wagon variants were occasionally offered in the first and second generations, the coupes outsold them ten-to-one. The second generation Regal was best known for sending out the RWD era at Buick out with a bang in the form of fire-breathing turbocharged T-Types, Grand Nationals, and the ultimate GNX.

With the 1988 model year, the Regal became a front-wheel drive car on the new W-body, shared with the Grand Prix, Lumina, and Cutlass Supreme. The Regal version was initially available only as a coupe with the funky "beer tap" door handles in the B-pillars.

The only powertrain available in the debut year was the GM LB6, a 2.8L multiport fuel injected pushrod V-6 making 125 SAE net horsepower. Performance was a faint shadow of the Regal Grand National. For 1989 the Gran Sport package became an option and the 140hp 3.1L version of the corporate V-6 supplanted the 2.8L later in the model year.

1990 saw the Regal become the only one of the W-body coupes to offer the 3800 Tuned Port Injection 3.8L OHV V-6. The "Series I" 3800 made 170 SAE net ponies and managed to restore something approaching reasonable acceleration again.

When Car and Driver tested a 1992 Regal GS coupe not unlike the Arctic White one in the photos, they clocked a 9.2 second zero-to-sixty time and a 16.9 second quarter.

The one in the photo was snapped in October of 2025 using a Sony a77 and a Sony Zeiss 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 Vario-Sonnar T* zoom lens.

1968 Chevrolet Camaro RS Convertible

There have been a couple first generation Camaro Rally Sport convertibles on the blog already, but they were both 1967 models.

The FMVSS-compliant side marker lights and the lack of vent windows on this Chevrolet Camaro RS ragtop in Palomino Ivory mark it as a 1968 model.

According to the fender badges, this one's got a 327 Turbo-Fire small block under the hood. That could either be the base two-barrel motor with an 8.75:1 compression ratio and 210 gross horsepower, or the four-barrel version with a 10.0:1 squeeze and 275 ponies. Both versions had a single exhaust from the factory, so there's no real external clues.

Both photos were snapped in September of 2023, the top one with a Nikon D800 and a 24-120mm f/4 VR zoom lens and the lower one with a Nikon 1 V1 and a 1 Nikkor 32mm f/1.2 lens.

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air

When the "shoebox" style Chevrolets debuted for the 1955 model year, the only four-door sedan available was a conventional pillared one.

With the 1956 models, however, a sleeker sedan lacking a B-pillar was assed to the lineup. The new hardtop four-door was sold as the Sport Sedan and was only available in the top-of-the-line Bel Air and midrange 210. The spartan 150 still made do with the B-pillar.

We've had a 1957 Bel Air sedan on these pages before, but it was the regular pillared kind. This Adobe Beige and Sierra Gold 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Sedan in the photos was snapped in October of 2020 using a Nikon D7000 and a 16-80mm f/2.8-4E zoom lens.

1970 Pontiac GTO Convertible

Right up front, it's next to impossible to verify that this is an actual GTO Judge without looking at the original paperwork. It's also been repainted and lacks all the badges and decals. The "statement color" for the 1970 Judge was Orbit Orange, which was a lighter, yellower hue than this. This looks more like the Carousel Red from 1969.

Also, 1970 Judge convertibles are vanishingly rare. Skyrocketing insurance rates were crippling muscle car sales in 1970. Pontiac only sold 40,149 GTOs for that model year. Only 3,797 of that number were Judges, and only 168 Judges were ragtops.

It's every bit as likely to be a regular '70 GTO convertible with the hood tach and wing added by a later owner. Still, it's a super cool ride.

When Car Life tested a 1970 GTO coupe with the L74 366 SAE gross horsepower Ram Air III 400cid V-8, a four-speed manual, and a 3.90:1 rear end, they managed a zero-to-sixty time of six seconds flat and a 14.6 quarter at 100mph. Top speed was a buck-twenty-one and price as tested was $5,057, or about $42,300 in today's money.

This one was photographed in October of 2021 using a Nikon D3 and a 24-120mm f/4 VR zoom lens.

1962 Cadillac Series 62 Four-Window Town Sedan

The newly restyled Cadillacs for 1961 featured crisper, more angular styling than the previous generation. While they still had fairly prominent tail fins, they were but a vestige of the previous generation's monstrosities. Rather than the twin bullet-shaped taillights that protruded from the rear of its predecessor's fins, the new Cadillacs had a single taillight cleanly faired into the trailing edge of the fins, with another lamp assembly at either end of the rear bumper. The lower edge of the bodywork featured a distinctive skeg or strake that became emblematic of these early Space Age Cads.

The Series 62 was the less expensive model of the full-size Cadillacs, with a less posh interior than the pricier de Ville models. The Four Window Town Sedan had a shorter decklid and roof, sacrificing some trunk space and rear seat legroom to give an overall length half a foot shorter than the 222"-long Six Window Sedan, making it easier to park on city streets and fit in normal garages.

Under the hood could be found Cadillac's 390 cubic inch pushrod V-8, with a four-throat carburetor and a 10.5:1 compression ratio, making 325 SAE gross horsepower. Base MSRP was $4,590, or roughly $49,400 in current dollars.

This one was photographed with a Fujifilm X-T2 and an XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R OIS zoom lens in September of 2021.

2000 BMW M5

The first two iterations of BMW's high performance sedan built on the 5-series platform used the classic inline-six motors for which the manufacturer was famous. When the E39-based version of the M5 debuted for the 1999 model year, however, it packed a brawny V-8 under the hood.

The S62, displacing 4.9 liters, was an all-aluminum DOHC 32V V-8 that featured BMW's double-VANOS system, which gave variable valve timing on both the intake and exhaust valves. Each cylinder had its own throttle body and the compression ratio was 11.0:1. The result was a motor that wailed out 400 SAE net horsepower at 6,600 RPM.

In Car and Driver's testing, the 2000 M5 hurtled to sixty in only 4.8 seconds and dispatched the quarter mile in 13.3 seconds at 108mph through the traps. Top speed was measured at 156, it circled the skidpad at 0.90g, and the brakes hauled it to a stop from 70 in 156 feet. The car easily outperformed the Jag XJR and E55 AMG Benz against which it was pitted in the test and is one of the last times C/D reviewed an M5 without having to insert caveats.

Price as tested was $73,874, which is about $140k in current money.

This one was photographed in August of 2021 using a Hasselblad Lunar and a Sony Vario-Tessar T* 16-70mm f/4 zoom lens.