E30 based Marlin Sportster for Sale

[lizbillings]

I still miss my last Marlin which I sold in 2009! It was a Berlinetta (Cortina based) but we still had another Marlin - Bluebelle! Not quite the same as it wasn't mine.

[billjackson54]

I sold my Sierra based Berlinetta in 2010 and I still miss it....and I sold the car I replaced it with in 2017 (not a Marlin) and I still miss that. In 2023 I parted with the blue Cabrio I bought in 2017 upon which I had spent a great deal of time and money in order to acquire the Hunter I have now. I console myself with the knowledge that there were compelling reasons for the sales on each occasion, and each car is now with an owner who's pleased with it. The Berlinetta was really lovely, but not suitable for my needs at the time. Its replacement fulfilled those needs in every way but one (it wasn't a Marlin) and I loved it. The blue Cabrio was a great teeth cutter...it taught me a lot about Marlins and was almost perfect....and the Hunter is everything the Cabrio was and a bit more as well. I'm providing a good home for the Hunter....the blue Cabrio has gone to a very appreciative new owner who is using it regularly and its predecessor now belongs to a committee member of that marque's Owners Club, who loves it as much as I did. The Berli is, I'm told , in Italy....a sadness, but someone there wanted it enough to pay the charges! Unless one has the time, the space and the resources to retain multiple vehicles, hard choices are a fact of life....and regrets over necessary partings are futile.

[wiggiesworld]

Sellers remorse always gets to me too. Sold a lovely 1996 TVR Chimaera 4L in 2018 and knew I regretted it the instant the logbook was handed over.

[greatoldone]

The garage looks awfully empty now… IMG_2163.jpg

[greatoldone]

I am. I don’t think it will really hit me until Sunday morning when the chap comes to pick her up. I hope the weather is nice for him… he’s driving her back to Kent. So not a short trip!

[MOC Chair]

That is a really excellent result. The price reflects the time and effort you put into building her. I bet you are really sorry to see her go.

[greatoldone]

So it’s over. At final hammer she reached £12,750. Hopefully the new owner will become a member - I’ll point them over here once they’ve picked her up.

[greatoldone]

Less than 4 hours to go now. This is such a f***ing wrench.

[greatoldone]

Yes - at first they thought it was roadster (even though I told them it was a sportster), so I think that a lot of the blurb was related to that. I pointed out again that it was a sportster and I think they just did a search / replace on the article. You’re right the first sportsters where ford based. My kit came with a ford ‘build manual’ even though it was a bmw chassis. I need to contact them to amend. That said, it’s not misrepresenting the actual car.

[edit] I’ve added a clarification in the comments section of the listing.

[billjackson54]

A beautiful car, and a true credit to its builder and heartening to see the Reserve met so quickly. However, there's a salutary lesson in the Auction blurb as some of the model's pedigree seems wildly awry with my understanding. The Sportster styling was deliberately related to earlier Marlins in order to retain a "family resemblance", but the Sportster was designed and the kit marketed by the Matthews partnership of Terry and Mark, surely ? The earliest cars were Ford based (Sierra or Granada / Scorpio) and later the kit was redeveloped for BMW 3 series mechanicals....still by Terry and Mark? I'm willing to bow to someone else's greater knowledge if I'm incorrect, but if not, it just goes to show how careful one must be with one's research when buying a car at Auction....the Auctioneer, it seems, may not be entirely accurate in the description so all things need to be fact checked!

[greatoldone]

Well, she’s been up on the block for less than a day and she’s met her reserve.

[greatoldone]

Auction commences at 10:00am tomorrow (07/01/2025).

[greatoldone]

Thanks for the kind words, Robin. Here’s hoping.

[martinclan56]

Hopefully will go to someone that appreciates the workmanship that went into her.

[greatoldone]

She’s up for auction now:

https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/1986-marlin-sportster-4XjKbg

No offers outside the auction site.