One of the major shortcomings of most car shows, aside from the fact that the owners aren’t driving their cars, is that they’re mostly arranged by marque or by year. What if show organizers arranged cars by more esoteric themes, such as designers, design trends, or social themes? You could tell much more interesting stories that way – juxtaposing Engle-designed Lincolns and Imperials, for example, or a progression spartan post-war European cars through the 1980s. Or you could set various cars from the wedge styling trend together so you could look at a VW Scirocco, Isuzu Impulse/Piazza, Lotus Esprit, Lamborghini Countach, and Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT all in the same row. Well, some of those are out of our budget, but perhaps these two cars can get you started on your own wedge collection. Check out this 1981 VW Scirocco 16v for sale for $3000 in West Hollywood, CA.
Though somewhat dirty and/or oxidized, and not photographed under the best conditions, this car looks to have been thoughtfully upgraded at some point. No tacky spoilers, stickers, or excessive lowering over stretched-out tires – just some classy wheels that reference sporting Audis, aggressive tires, and what looks to be a slight suspension drop. That single windshield wiper is stock, incidentally. The interior includes nicely bolstered front seats done in cloth upholstery that matches the rears, a wood steering wheel, and gauges mounted in the center console. The color leaves something to be desired, but is nice and stealthy in a GT kind of way. Note the similarity in the shape of the windshield and greenhouse to this 1976 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT for sale for $1750 in Ventura, CA.
The Alfetta is a mostly-original car with some period modifications that has been undriven since 1986. It does appear to have some rust around the windshield and the tail lights, but seems to be in otherwise decent, if faded, condition. Notice the fat high-sidewall sports tires, mounted on this rare interpretation of the factory turbina wheels, and the lowered suspension. It’s said to have last run two years ago, so expect some work to resurrect it – hopefully the oil does not smell of gas (fuel injection pump failure). Can you see the design similarity between the two cars? Both are said to have their origins with Giugiaro.
They differ completely under the hood, though – transversely mounted iron block engine with a 16 valve head from a later VW, along with front wheel drive, on the Scirocco. Again, this is a tastefully done conversion and avoids any tacky hot-rod parts – the 16v looks like it was there from day one. The car is said to have some issues, but with 130,000 miles on the engine and 233K on the body, that’s to be expected. And it does pass smog.
Meanwhile, the Alfa has a longitudinally mounted aluminum twin cam engine, with a rear-mounted transaxle on DeDion suspension and torsion bars on the front. You’d need to do a full recommissioning, but it does appear the family member who gave the car to the seller was an Alfa enthusiast, investing in bits to tastefully improve the appearance as well as the performance. So for less than $5K, you can get a jump on your own wedge collection – from there, it’s onwards and upwards to Esprits, Countachs, and Khamsins.
Tags: alfa romeo, alfetta, coupe, Feature, german, gt, italian, mk1, scirocco, volkswagen, vw
Rusty But Trusty 
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