Posts Tagged ‘italian’

Rare Fare – 1972 Fiat 124 Coupe BC

May 8, 2014

Among truly affordable cars that can cause weakness in the knees, and silly thoughts of selling a minor organ (maybe a gall bladder), the Fiat 124 coupe ranks pretty high. In its favor are rarity, style, that sweet twincam, and the fact it shares many parts with a very ubiquitous platform. If you can throw a virtual rock without hitting an online listing or resource for Fiat 124s, you’re using the wrong internet. A good 124 coupe can be every bit the equivalent of a BMW 2002, Datsun 510, or Alfa Romeo GTV, although the interior bits are a little more likely to fall off. Some survived the odds, though – check out this 1972 Fiat 124 Coupe for sale for $3800 in Natick, MA.

1972 Fiat 124 Coupe beige right front

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Familiar Sight – 1977 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV

May 1, 2014

It’s high time another Alfetta appeared here. Fortunately, the online gods favored us, and provided a nicely faded, red Alfetta GTV. This looks awfully similar to the RustyButTrusty Alfetta GT before paint, almost eerily so. However, it does have some interesting details that will make it pop when hell freezes over and Alfettas get their due among collectors. Chief among those are the two chrome bars in the grill (known as baffi among Alfettisti) that replicate the two grill bars on the 1969 GTV and Berlina, the fuel filler door, and GTV vent covers. You can find your long-distant-future collectible in this 1977 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV for sale for $3500 in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA.

1977 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT right front

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Influential – 1967 Autobianchi Primula

April 29, 2014

Pop quiz! If someone asked you to name a car that influenced most compact front-wheel drive cars on the road today, what would you say? First-generation VW Golf? Guess again. Citroen Traction Avant (heck, any postwar Citroen)? Not quite. Austin Mini? Almost, but no cigar. It was the Autobianchi Primula. Fiat used their Autobianchi brand to test out new technologies, and in this case, they tested the transverse-engine, front-wheel drive with the transmission above the differential instead of in the oil sump, as seen on Minis. It also featured unequal-length driveshafts, rack and pinion steering, and disc brakes on all four wheels. The Primula only got second place in the European Car of the Year competition, but Fiat went back with a similar powertrain layout in their 128 and got the top prize. For your own automotive unsung hero, check out this 1967 Autobianchi Primula, for sale for €500 ($690 today) in Lucbardez-et-Bargues, southwestern France.

1967 Autobianchi Primula right front

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