German Car Hunter

They say you make your money when you purchase the car and not when you sell it and Brian Sigel’s collection is the epitome of buying German icons at their low and holding on to them. While talking with Brian it was clear he wasn’t in the collecting game for money but rather for the love of a forgotten era of German performance that is slowly becoming one of the fastest growing sectors in the collecting world. Purchasing dated German performance vehicles before they turn into collectors items takes really forward thinking, blind luck or a deep passion for these cars. Brian’s collection of 70-90’s German cars has all three of these qualities based on a deep passion of cars from his youth, a clear understanding of the market and a little bit of luck.

The most contemporary of the partial collection we looked at were a pair of M3’s, one of which he drove to his garage. The yellow 1999 BMW M3 E36 is his workhorse and 4th he’s owned over the years. He purchased the car in 2012 and bought it from a very anal owner who meticulously looked over the car. With 128,000 miles on the odometer its one of the cleaner E36s I have seen in the Northeast. The car is stock except for an upgraded cooling system, headlights, coilovers, brakes, exhaust and BBS wheels. The BBS wheel theme will continue through this entire story. Brian purchased the car because this was the iconic car for the era and has been deeply in love since they debuted. Brain thinks the E36 is the best overall drivers car between the E30, E36 and the E42 and is a great balance of power, handling and comfort lacking in the other models he owns.

The 1990 BMW M3 E30, my personal favorite, is everything you could get out of a late 80’s early 90’s performance vehicle. In the past 3-4 years these cars have shot up in price to a level most cannot afford, luckily for Brian he bought it before turning into a hot collector car. He passed on a $9,000 E30 M3 years before however in 2018 purchased this silver bullet for $37,000. According to Brain, its probably now worth 50-60K and only appreciating. The car was owned a man that started the BMW CCA, who measured his garage cutout to ensure that the car would fit. Brian knew immediately the car for him and purchased. The M3 wears, wait for it, BBS wheels however the car came with freshly restored original wheels that have never been on the pavement. Talking with Brian I learned the E30 M3 is almost completely unique compared to the standard 3 series and shares very little parts. The car is built as a street legal race car which is indicative by the wide over fenders and of course the big M3 specific motor. The driving experience is raw according to Brian, you can feel the mechanical aspects, no traction control, and the LSD make for a fun experience however with the knowledge of the increase in value it makes for a stressful drive as well. The car has a little over 100K miles but doesn’t look it. The leather is still soft and supple, paint shines like new and the motor is detailed and looking fresh. Outside of the camber plates and light suspension modification the car is bone stock.

We switch gears into VW territory witch brings us to the car that sparked the conversation at a car show introducing me to Brian. The flat brown, some may say poo brown, 1976 Rabbit was parked between a Corvette ZR1 and Ferrari and I had to talk with a guy who had no shame in displaying this odd VW amongst modern supercars. It shows you can have just as much fun and attract attention in a $4K car as you can in a $400K car. Brian bought the Rabbit in 2017 from the 2nd owner and came with a stack of receipts documenting the entire journey of the car along with the original window sticker from when car was purchased. The car has 95K original miles that includes a repaint, some period correct graphics, coilovers and you guessed it, 15” BBS wheels. The interior is as Econo box as it gets with no radio, no a/c, manual gear box and, which after some research, vinyl basketweave seats! The German built car sports a huuuuge 1.6L 71hp engine and looks great under the hood. The huge bumpers that stick out like a trailer hitch on a lifted Dodge diesel bro truck, are stock and able to survive a 5-7 mph impact…The brown and cream colors go so well together and make the unique color combo just as weird as the car itself. The manual brakes are drums in the back and discs in the front that forces Brian to actually drive the car and predict when you need to stop. Brian drives the Rabbit quite a bit and only had carb and fuel issues to sort out after he purchased the car.

The big brother, and more well known, to the Rabbit is the GTI which started the hot hatch trend that continues today in modern cars. The version Brian owns is a time capsule, 1984 GTI with 67K bone stock original miles that was built right here in Western PA. Brain believes his father, who worked on the Westmoreland VW line, built this car making this GTI very special to him and his family. The original sticker of $3,420 included factory upgrades of $130 which got you a stereo radio prep, which is the antenna and not the actual stereo, and vent windows, high class for the time! The originality of this car makes it special with original paint, original interior even down to the original undercoating under the hood. This is one of the few cars that do not sport BBS wheels. The car from the factory was a non ac/non sunroof car which made it especially well equipped for Group B racing. Brian has autocrossed the car and reports its an absolute blast to drive. The power to weight ratio with 90hp and the balance of the factory upgraded suspension allow Brian to toss the GTI around while making it stick like glue. Brian paid $4,400 for the car you see here and estimates in the current condition to be worth around $30K.

Which brings us to the most interesting Scirocco I’ve ever seen that has one of the most historically significant upgrades. You see, this 1980 VW Scirocco is fitted with a Callaway turbo kit and raced in the 80’s with a full cage and period upgrades galore. Let’s start with the Callaway turbo kit. Before the Callaway Corvette fame, Reeves Callaway was making turbo charger kits for BMW, VW’s and a host of German cars. This Scirocco was sold directly from the factory in Westmoreland and was taken to Callaway in 1984 by the 2nd owner where the Callaway system was installed for road racing. Brian has the original receipts and back in 1984 you too could have a custom turbo system for $5,400. The block was originally a 1.6L and was punched out to 1.8L, its been balanced and blueprinted, and upgraded with an Oettinger crank that matched with the turbo kit puts out and estimated 160hp. Along with the engine upgrades it has a full cage and original Recaro Orange Spectrum, front (with heaters) AND rear, that match the paint and period. The Google search to find out how much these seats are, if you can find, them is a rabbit hole.

The Bosch fog lights are emblematic of the time and of course original BBS top the 1980’s racing build off. It has some trick home made road racing upgrades which includes an actual desk fan pointed at the block to cool it down, a/c delete, and strut tower bar. The Brazilian Brown paint shines very well and hints of burnt orange when the light hits it. Brian says when he drives the car people stop and stare including the younger generation who know the prominence of the car.

While this is only a portion of Brian’s collection, its eclectic, and Brian has great taste in cars. All of his purchases have been well thought out and mark some of the best forgotten German performance cars. He’s the fanatic who buys cars from his youth that just so happens to be the hottest German cars on the street. You can find him on instagram @pghgermancarguy or riding his beautiful German cars all around the Pittsburgh, PA area. If you have additional questions for Brian hit him up or email the podcast radridespodcast@gmail.com.