Yeah, you basically got the low down. European versions do indeed have more horsepower but do not have emission control equipment as our US-Spec ones do. Euro models usually will have velour interior even on the highline models and will have manual climate control setups. They're geared for Autobahn driving (at least the Germans-spec ones) but the older models (unless they were imported right off the bat) were thrashed pretty hard on the 'Bahns and once the German TUV said "nein" to letting it back on the road, they shipped them over here since we'll buy just about anything. I lucked out with my BMW, the 745i was a European-only model, but my car (it's an '84) was brought over here in '85 so it escaped being driven to hell and back at insane speeds. No wonder it still runs so good!

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Rgds,
Aaron Greenberg
MB technician
Precision Motorcars, Cincinnati, Ohio
'67 250SE Cabriolet
'77 450SL
'80 300SD
'85 380SE
'86 420SEL
'89 420SEL
'93 300E 2.8
'74 Jensen Interceptor Mk.III
'81 DeLorean DMC12
'84 BMW 745i Turbo