Rusty But Trusty

Here’s something you don’t see every day. Most replica classics have several drawbacks – being based on a pedestrian platform, awkward styling to fit modern underpinnings, high cost of entry, and more. It’s nice to find a car that scores well on at least two of those elements, and if you buy into some snobbery about country of origin and longevity of its maker, it has that going for it as well. Spartan Cars were made from 1973 to 1995, and in addition to the Roadster there were a Mini-Moke-like vehicle, and what must have been truly odd-looking estate car and motorhome conversions for the Ford Cortina. The Roadster first used the Triumph Herald/Vitesse/Spitfire as its basis, moving to the Mark III-V Cortinas as the Triumphs became unsuitable donors through age or collectibility. At any rate, there can’t be that many of these in the US, although the Spartan owners’ club does count some Americans among its members. If you want to be one of the few, you can start by looking at this 1971 Spartan Roadster for sale for $4500 somewhere in Clark County, WA, just north of Portland, OR.

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