There are plenty of sports cars that seemingly were meant to wear one shade of paint, leaving all other colors out in the cold. Of course, this isn’t true – certain cars look good no matter the first owner’s choice in paint – but that doesn’t stop the enthusiast community from docking dollars from vehicles that don’t come in the “right” colors. Sometimes, however, it pays to do some digging, and then you might realize an unloved color is actually a special order paint code known as Kalahari Beige Metallic. This clean 944 is listed here on Facebook Marketplace for a measly $5,995.
In the BMW world, a similar distaste exists for top-shelf models that wear an unfortunate shade of paint called Bronzit; as you can likely deduct, it’s just another word for gold/beige. The community always sighs a deep sigh when a seller describes what sounds like a minty survivor and then reveals it left the factory wearing a color akin to a nice set of khaki trousers. Of course, as cars from the 1980s begin to appreciate, there’s a sense of nostalgia wrapped up in colors like these, an acknowledgement that some of us may have even though this was a gorgeous color to spec a new car in. This 944 presents quite well despite having just three photos in the listing, and I’d love to know if it has the new-for-85.5 heated power seats.
The odometer mileage is all we have to go on for a sense of how well-traveled this 944 is, and the condition shown in the few photos provided seems to shake out with that of a decent driver, but not a time-warp specimen. The gauge cluster shows some cosmetic flaws on the glass itself, but it’s hard to discern exactly what this deterioration is we’re seeing. The seller notes it is technically a “1985.5” 944, so it has the updated dash and other cabin improvements. If you’re on the fence about the color, do me a favor and search for pictures of 944s wearing Kalahari Beige Metallic – with some larger phone dial wheels and a lowered suspension, it looks pretty killer. For the price, it seems like aside from the color, it’d be hard to go wrong with this one.
This color isn’t as bad as rose quartz which was a popular color back in the 80’s. Another rarely seen option is a cloth interior. Most 944’s were leather. 85.5 and newer is your best bet. Early 944’s didn’t have power steering, lower control arms were VW Rabbit, and electrics were VW Rabbit, Audi transaxle, and type 3 rear trailing arms.
You mena early 924’s?
I have a 1990 E30 in Bronzit and the color definitely divides people. Lots turn their noses up, but there’s a strong contingent of enthusiasts who love the color—especially in late model years with color-matched bumpers and trim.
Bronzit is not my favorite color on the E30 (so many great colors on that car), but it’s also not my least favorite, either (which would be easy to choose: boring Alpinweiss or wacky Neungrun). But there’s no denying it looks period correct! I still don’t love the color, but it’s grown on me a lot over the years.
Honestly, my biggest issue with Bronzit is the mediocre clearcoat on top of it. Seems like every Bronzit BMW started developing hairline micro-cracks in the clearcoat sometime in the mid-’90s. You don’t really notice it until the light hits a surface just right, then woah they’re everywhere. I’m not sure if other colors or if Porsches suffered that problem as badly.
At least it has the third pedal, should make for a fun drive.
I like the 944. This color is OK. But, what is wrong with the instrument cluster? Is that something on the clear plastic, or underneath? It looks pretty tatty to me. Not a lot of good pics, so that’s a red flag to me.
Looks like mold, agree with the red flag.
My 86 is same color and seats looked good till I put myself in the car the cloth and the foam came apart so figure on new seat covers at about $6-800