11/2022 – The Carmax Unicorn Blog

November 28, 2022November 27, 2022

Quick Hit – 1 of 600 Toyota Supra A91-CF Edition

What we have here is a “rare” 2022 Toyota Supra A91-CF Edition – rare in that only 600 were made, and all were allocated to North America. A bit of a unicorn. The CF stands for Carbon Fiber, and yes, much of the upgrade over a regular Supra A91 is really lots and lots of carbon fiber stuff – front splitter, rear spoiler, rocker panels, and side and rear canards. (Learned what “canards” were just for this car!) And black matte 19″ wheels with silver “Supra” calipers.

Toyota will tell you in their press release that all that carbon ain’t just window dressing, and that the splitter and duckbill spoiler and other carbon doodads actually increase downforce. Haven’t been able to find any reviews that support that, but Toyota wouldn’t make that up, would they?

The CF Edition also gets you a red and black Alcantara leather interior with “unique stitching details”, according to Toyota. And more carbon fiber trim. It’s as handsome of an interior as you’d find in any BMW Z car! This one has adaptive cruise control, Apple CarPlay, heated seats, and the upgraded JBL audio system.

The Carbon Fiber edition may or may not make the car go faster, and yet the 2022 Supra AF-91 is really, really fast. Like 3.8 seconds to 60 mph and a governed top end of 160. The Supra is powered by a 382 horsepower, 3.0 liter turbocharged inline six cylinder motor coupled with an eight-speed automatic, and is rear wheel drive. Yes, it’s (not so) secretly a BMW Z4 and was even built in Germany. With lots of carbon fiber.

The 2022 Toyota Supra A91-CF Edition was the most expensive Supra available at perhaps $68-70,000 MSRP last year, and significantly more than the four banger. Then again, there were only 600 made and that gives you some bragging rights. (The only other Supra I covered was this 1 of 1,500 2020 Supra Launch Editions, and that one was only $52,000.) At this time there are about a dozen A91-CF’s for sale on cars.com at about the same price point as this one. This one-owner, California coupe is selling for $65,998 here in Oxnard, California. It’s still under manufacturer warranty, and while I wouldn’t recommend MaxCare for too many Toyotas, keep in mind this is a BMW underneath and repairs will not be cheap in a few years. Enjoy.

November 22, 2022November 22, 2022

781 Mile 2013 Corvette 427 Convertible Z06 (Not)

Yes I miss my bright yellow 1971 Fiat 124 Spider convertible and every night I surf CarMax for yellow cars that might soothe my soul. Of the 55,000 cars in the inventory today, 100 are yellow making it the least popular color – even fewer than purple – and of those 100, six are Corvettes. And the most fascinating of the Corvettes is this 2013 427 with only 781 miles. It’s pretty much a brand new 10 year old Corvette! A unicorn perhaps.

Here’s your proof. It’s a two-owner Oklahoma car that’s never been wrecked, and has pretty much no history in the “detailed vehicle history” section on the web….because there is no history. The car sold new for maybe $77,000 back in 2013 and is selling for almost $70,000 now. Same old conundrum – high price for low miles that will lose value once you drive it, but let’s not forget it’s a pretty good car. CarMax lists it as having the 60th anniversary package, but I’m not seeing that.

Not a Corvette expert by any means, so I got my intel from this Car and Driver review from 2013. Was surprised to find the gouge on this edition is that it’s pretty much a Z06 except for the steel frame – the Z06 coupe has an aluminum frame. Otherwise, Car and Driver notes, “beneath its carbon-fiber Z06 hood and between what look like the Z06’s carbon-fiber fenders sits the Z06’s dry-sump 7.0-liter V-8 spinning the Z06’s six-speed manual—the only transmission available, just as in the Z06—and directing power to the Z06’s rear axle, which is equipped with the Z06’s available magnetorheological shock absorbers. Chevy refuses to call the 427 droptop a Z06 for a much simpler reason: Supporting its carbon-fiber and balsa-wood sandwich floor panels—same as the Z06’s—is the hydroformed steel frame from the base Corvette rather than the aluminum structural core of the Z06“. To a knucklehead like me, it’s a Z06. (But if you really, really want a true yellow Corvette convertible Z06 here’s a link to a 2017 model with only 27,000 miles – for only $68,000!)

The 505 horsepower 7-liter V-8 and manual transmission pushes this car to 60 mph in less than four seconds, and tops out at 182 mph. It’s got leather heated seats, heads up display, a Bose audio with CD (and an aux jack!) and not a lot else in the way of modern doodads. Chevrolet, though, called it “the fastest and most-capable convertible in Corvette’s history” when it was released.

It’s a very nice, pristine damned near new Corvette, and I’m sure someone who loves Corvettes will buy this eventually. MaxCare is available for another 150,000 miles and five years, although I suspect the next owner will have no intention of driving this Corvette that much. Take me back to Tulsa, where you can find this Corvette here!

Stock 23016911 · VIN 1G1YY3DE2D5700297

November 21, 2022November 20, 2022

Ghost Cars – If You Didn’t Save Them, You Won’t See Them

I was corresponding with a blog reader buddy about the 2015 Mercedes S65 I had on hold and he was surprised it was out there – didn’t see it on the CarMax web page when searching for V-12’s. It reminded me of the peculiarities of searching and tracking unicorns on CarMax.com and the app. They operate differently but on both one can save cars to your profile as favorites. Once there, you still have visibility on the car regardless of status. On the phone app, a car might say “Currently Unavailable” after being saved with no further information. On my laptop, though, more information is provided on saved cars that are not “currently available“. The listing will share if the car is “reserved” or “shipping“, and if being transferred will indicate where it’s going. On the laptop web page it will also indicate whether a car is “sold” – but it doesn’t delete them.

For very special cars I’ll leave them in my saved section even after being sold and get pleasantly surprised when they sometimes show up again after being returned. On both the app and the web page you can see the latest price for the vehicle even if it’s unavailable, but only on the menu showing all the cars you’ve saved. Once you click on the car the price is “N/A”. Because of all this rigamarole I’ve been including the stock number and VIN when I blog. You can always search by the stock number and find cars that are “currently unavailable” and don’t show up when searching by brand, type, cylinders, etc. With that, here are a couple of “ghost” cars that remain in my saved file but haven’t been offered for sale in a while. They may or may not show up again as available.

Here’s a rare one, a 2017 Alpina B7 that was on the net briefly then went underground while being transferred to Raleigh, North Carolina. Not a lot of B7’s in the USA (a few hundred imported yearly?) and while it has the same horsepower as the V-12 M760i, Car and Driver described the B7 as “the quickest dealership-sold BMW we’ve ever tested, with 60 mph arriving in 3.4 seconds.” Say’s it’ll do 193 mph. FWIW here’s the link to the Car and Driver review, and it has a nice recap of how Alpina came to be.

Picture above could be the interior of the M760i or even the 750 – only real giveaway is the logo on the steering wheel and the cool Alpina graphic embedded in the speedo. This B7 is loaded with Apple CarPlay, adaptive cruise control, the Driver Assistance Package, Executive Package, and Luxury Package.

The Alpina B7 leverages the 4.4 liter twin turbo from the 750 but adds boost, special pistons, Alpina intake, exhaust, and intercoolers to get the 600 hp. It’s mated to an eight speed ZF automatic transmission.

Only 400 2017 Alpina B7’s were imported to the USA, and they were priced at $137,000. As noted, the ad says N/A for a price, but in my saved file it shows it’s selling for $59,998. That’s a helluva deal. Track this 2017 Alpina B7 here in Raleigh – currently reserved for some lucky buyer. Or maybe not?

Stock # 23467006 VIN # WBA7F2C39HG543846

November 14, 2022November 15, 2022

Barriers to Blogging – Three Possible S600 Successors and an F1 Race?

Here we go again. Me whining why I haven’t blogged as much as I’d like. And for the most part, it’s because I’ve been obsessed and paralyzed by my own search for the successor to my beloved 2010 Mercedes S600 I sold in September. If you’ve been on this journey with me before, you’ll know that it’s not just about the next car, but also how it complements my daily driver (2013 BMW M3 and my wife’s car (2022 Kia Sportage). If she hates my cars, we always have to take her car on road trips. Her car’s not bad, but it’s not a unicorn. My pursuit is also complicated by my best friends recently buying a BMW X3 M40i, a BMW X5 45e, and a BMW X5 M50i – great SUV’s and now they are all off the table as options for me. And in addition to the search for a unicorn, I split for Austin in October to take in the US Grand Prix. Throwing that in at the bottom here just because. Let’s get started.

Surprise! I am absolutely intrigued with this 2017 Mercedes GLA45 AMG. I love these little buzz bombs and this one is cheap and well appointed with both adaptive cruise control and Apple CarPlay. I could easily see myself leaving home everyday in this to run errands, stop by the office, and throw music gear in the back for my gigs. Unpretentious sleeper.

While traveling I-95 between Baltimore and Washington I stopped by the Laurel, Maryland CarMax to test drive the GLA45. While waiting for the sales rep I sat in the car. Squeezed in and hit the seat adjustment button. Seat went back…and back…and back. The GLA45 has more front leg room than an S-class. Fact. I looked it up and for sure – 1/2 inch more leg room! Unfortunately, the sales rep never showed up and after a half hour of wandering the lot trying on cars I had to leave.

Before this stop I couldn’t explain why I like these cars. It’s not because it is allegedly a crossover “ute” of some sort – it’s not. The car has a really, really low ride height. Like lower than most sedans, not just crossovers. One critic complained that Mercedes took a CLA and raised it to create the GLA platform, then lowered it again to make the GLA AMG. Nonsensical. On the drive home I saw a Volkswagen GTI on the interstate and it finally hit me why I like the GLA45 so much.

The Mercedes GLA45 AMG is nothing more than a hot hatchback, and ever since I owned a pair of 70’s era Ford Fiestas (West German cars with the 1.6 liter Kent engines used in Formula 3) I’ve loved screaming around the back roads in unusual econoboxes. How much more fun in a modern one with 4WD and Apple CarPlay?!

The 2017 Mercedes GLA45 AMG is powered by a 375 hp 2.0 liter turbocharged four cylinder. It’s the most horsepower you can get in a gas-only four banger in the USA. The car sprints to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds. It would be quicker than my old S55, S600, 911, and the M3 I’m driving now, although not as refined at high speeds I suspect. It would damned sure get better mileage. Why am I not buying it? If I could have the M3 as my convertible/sports car combo and a big luxury vehicle for long drives, this GLA45 would be perfect as a daily driver. That said, I (foolishly) agreed with the wife to be a two car guy again vice three cars, and I’m at a point in my life where I have a shot at splurging on that second car that I may not have next time around. This isn’t it. This GLA45 sold for over $50,000 five years ago and it’s not cheap at $36,998, but it sure is fun. Find it here in Laurel, Maryland.

Stock # 23516917 VIN # WDDTG5CB7HJ333732

November 8, 2022November 7, 2022

Quick Hit – Jaguar Triplets?

The Jaguar XKR above is not one of the triplets. It’s the last Jaguar XK I wrote about in February 2022 here. One of several over the years I’ve driven and thought about buying. And every single time I cover an XK I mention how much I love the svelte look of the hardtop and not really a big fan of the drop top – disrupts the flow from the B-pillar back to the deck. But I’ve also tried to learn over the years to not say a car isn’t pretty – it’s just not for me. I would offer that with the top down the body has a totally different vibe and is quite nice. If you’ve always wanted one of the X150 Jaguar XK convertibles imported from 1996 to 2015 here’s three nearly identical triplet unicorns for you.

The 2015 at the top is my favorite. First, Jaguar sold only 492 of the final year 2015 models (the web says three 2016 models were sold!). Second, it’s in unicorn pricing territory at $39,998 (update – it just dropped to $37,998!). Third, it’s low mileage at 32,000. Last, it’s the lovely tan interior below I equate with luxury. My wife equates it to visible coffee stains when my commute goes bad. We’re both right.