The Biturbo should be met with suspicion. After all, it was selected as Time's Worst Car of 1984. Piling on further, we've been advised by those in the Alfa Romeo community to permit the Biturbo ample berth. And yet the temptation remains.
We aren't fans of the shape, though once you get past the awkward, stunted proportions, the design details are handsome. The wheels are a classic design with a nice deep dish to them. The exhaust tips are interesting, and the fonts on the decklid are handsome. We can imagine how the interior, worn out as it is today, would have looked in the original design concept sketches and we see what they were going for. Still, it brings to mind the current Maserati Ghibli - a car that sells in relatively large numbers (for a Maserati) in spite of its odd appearance.
Fiat 500s aren't so common today, but the original model sold to the tune of nearly 4 million units from introduction to end of production. Of the units produced, about 650 received the Jolly - Joker in Italian - conversion at Ghia. It is said that of those 650 examples, a mere 100 or so survive to this day.
Original units trade for shockingly high sums these days, with 6-figure sales becoming the norm at the auction houses. We understand that these are truly rare and unique vehicles, so as stunning as the price tag may be, it does make sense. Now, were the original units accompanied by years of design and development work, or do they resemble something more along the lines of hasty decapitation? We'd say the truth lies much closer to the later. The service advertised here basically takes a standard 500 and replicates the original Jolly body style. In our eyes, you get 99% of the Jolly experience for a quarter of the price.
We've seen it before with Trabants and Isettas and it's no different here with the Piaggio Ape: austerity transportation, which is associated with hard times for those for whom it was the only transportation available, is so much more appealing viewed through rose-tinted glasses. Simple, thoughtful designs require only small updates over the years, which is why the 1990 Ape bears a great resemblance to the 1964 original cab-model.
The Ape 50 could take on a ~400lb payload, and to this day can be found moving bread and pizza around narrow European streets. Another common use is in the municipal vehicle setting - transporting garbage, road repair workers, and more. In developing markets, the Ape find even further uses.
The Flavia coupe benefits from a healthy does of Pininfarina cross-pollination, especially in the roofline and its kink at the base of the c-pillar. In photographs, the Flavia coupe could easily be mistaken for a much larger touring car, when in reality, it has much more in common with an Alfa Romeo GTV.
The long, tall hood belies the fact that it houses an aluminum boxer 4-cylinder engine and a front wheel drive transmission, both of which barely protrude above the plane of the front bumper. With some rowing of the 4-speed manual gearbox, the 91hp mill should prove to be more than enough to move the 2550lb coupe down the road.
The Dino Coupe sits in goldilocks region of the 1960s Italian 2+2 spectrum. Focusing on engine offerings, the spectrum runs from the 4-cylinder Alfas, to the V6 Dino Coupe, to the V8 Maseratis, to the V12 Ferraris and Lamborghinis. The body aspires to a Ferrari shape, missing only with the large greenhouse, and the small-displacement, revvy engine could be described as a scaled-down Ferrari unit.
But these Fiat Dinos stand on their own, Ferrari association or not. The shape is near-perfect, almost like an Italian take on the Mopar fastbacks from the same time period. It concedes some drama to its Fiat Dino Spider sibling, resorting to a more subtle approach to the front-end treatment. The design doesn't make a big splash at first glance, instead making a case for itself with each subsequent examination.
Fiat's takeover of Lancia preceded their takeover of Alfa Romeo by around 17 years, and while industrial giant Fiat would seem like a suitable companion to the smaller Italian brands, what resulted in both cases was an unfortunate dilution of each brand's distinctive products. Odd then, that the Fiat-Chrysler merger has been so successful, whereas Lancia has been driven into the ground with Alfa Romeo's demise looking more and more certain.
The Delta came from the second wave of Fiat-spiked Lancia products, and the Delta S4 came from a tube steel factory, seeing as it shared nothing but its silhouette with the Deltas scattered about European roadways. Itself an evolution of the WRC Group B Lancia 037, the Delta S4 was powered by a mid-ship turbocharged, supercharged and intercooled 1.8L 4-cylinder. The combination was good for 5 wins in its 12 race entries, but not good enough for a season victory in its sole years of competition, 1985 and 1986. US rally fans would have been fortunate to witness the Delta S4's 1986 victory in the Olympus Rally in Washington state.
The Ferrari 456 is one of the cars that doesn't appear too often on this site out of what is admittedly a conflict of interest. Despite the fact that we aren't in a position to make a move on any of these late 90s 2+2s, we still try to avoid drumming up any interest in them, with the hopes of keeping the values sane for the day when we do finally make a move on one. And if we were to move in on one? It would be identical to this example.
Finished in a reserved Blu Pozzi deep blue paint, this Ferrari 456M GT is loud on the inside with its light blue Poltrona Frau leather interior. No shields adorn the fenders, and the wheel center cap shields are painted to match the wheels rather than stand out. It's a 456 first, and a Ferrari second, as far as we are concerned.
Gandini might be the most recognized automotive designer when it comes to the 1970s wedge shape, but Giorgetto Giugiaro offered up his take on the wedge with the Maserati Bora and its little brother, the Merak. Substituting a Citroen and a pair of rear seats for the Bora's V8 offerings, the Merak competed with entry-level heavy-hitters like the Ferrari 308GT4 and the Lamborghini Urraco.
Maserati was owned by Citroen while the Merak was developed, so in addition to the quad-cam V6, the Merak received its brake hydraulics, clutch hydraulics, and headlight lift hydraulics from the venerable SM. Flying buttresses in the rear went a long way in distinguishing the Merak from the Bora, but both shared the majority of their front sheetmetal with one another.
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Year: 1974 Model: Maserati Merak Engine: 3.0L V6 Transmission: 5-speed manual Mileage: not listed Price: $39,950 Location: Los Angeles, CA
1974 Maserati Merak This highly collectible 1974 Maserati Merak is available in a vibrant color combination of red with a grey interior. It comes equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission, power windows, chrome bumpers, air conditioning, Campagnolo wheels and includes the spare tire. This is a very clean and presentable car and an excellent opportunity to climb into vintage Maserati ownership at a great price. The car is also mechanically sound. For $39,950
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It is said that the front suspension mountings and the rear fuel tank saddle areas are prone to rust on otherwise clean cars, and that both can require considerable expense to repair. In addition, on many cars, the sodium-filled exhaust valves are known to drop without warning, an outcome that is best avoided through proactive replacement. The transmission is shared with the Lotus Espirit of the era, so parts can be found, and the hydraulic suspension has an impressive reliability record, with replacement accumulators, the only real service part, obtained at a reasonable expense.
This seller features some of the roughest finds on the internet, so we aren't really sure what to expect from this particular example. It was likely out of service for a long period, and we wouldn't bet on the front suspension rust being already repaired. The passenger side door paint doesn't match the rest of the body, so expect some damage repair in the vehicle history. Production for the Merak is relatively high at 1830 units produced, but for a car so interesting and rare, we think the price of admission is well worth it.
The Alfa Romeo Spider launched in 1966 to modest sales success and never really recovered throughout its nearly 30-year run. Purists might appreciate the fact that Alfa never strayed far from the original concept, but those outside of the Alfista circle weren't won over by the numerous updates to the 1960s platform.
When the Miata launched just before the 1990s, it experienced sales roughly ten times those of the Spider, and still manages to sell in numbers that the Spider could never manage. It, too, has seen four generations, but with appreciable improvements with each new model and a sense of progress that the Spider never managed. And still, we see the appeal of the Spider range. It cedes victory to the Miata in nearly every objective category, but look at those headlights and that low belt line. Even in its awkward update for the 1990s, we can't help but prefer how comfortable the Spider is in its own skin.
For sale is a 1993 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce. With 81,770 miles
This vehicle is shown in yellow with a black leather interior.
Top Veloce trim which includes the aluminum wheels, leather interior, air conditioning and cloth top
US spec 2 liter 4 cylinder engine.
The 1993 is the last year of the Alfa Spider which has been produced in different generations since the 60s. The final body style has smoothed painted bumpers giving a much sleeker look then the previous series from the 80s.
The steering wheel has been changed to a wood Nardi steering wheel invoking the earlier models.
The top was professionally replaced last year with a top of the line Full cloth top and plastic window by premier upholstery in Rogers MN (better then new)
Complete Veloce spec spare wheel and tire.
Black Leather removable tonneau cover
This vehicle has always been stored in a heated garage on a battery tender. https://ebay.to/3bkhtMu Vin # ZARBB32N4P7006288
NO warranty expressed or implied
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The series 4 Spider makes use of a Bosch engine management system, so gone is the romance and inconvenience of the Weber carbs of yore. To some, this is demerit, but many can appreciate the OBD 1 diagnostics and ease of operation. We enjoy working on our cars, though we realize that a majority of folks just want something that works day-after-day. Either way, availability of repair parts and replacements is outstanding for the Spiders, and aftermarket and performance parts are easily obtained.
Yesterday's Maserati Spyder will likely sell for twice the cash that this Alfa Spider will fetch. Is the Maserati twice as fun? We'd wager no. Both have A/C, power steering, and fuel-injection, so they aren't very disparate in ease of ownership either. Miatas drive like the absolute business, but Miatas aren't very Italian, are they? This Spider appeals to those looking for a long-gone driving experience without most of the inconveniences associated with those times - we can get behind that.
Giubo. Gweeebo. Stradaaale. Gran Turisomo. Cambiocorsa. Some words, for the english speakers at least, are fun to pronounce. Sometimes they are so fun that they get used even where they don't apply. With the Maserati Coupe and Spyder, much of the public was confused by what was essentially a lack of any sort of name, outside of Coupe or Spyder. And complicating matters were the Cambiocorsa and GT designations, separating the manual GT cars from the automated-manual Cambiocorsa cars. So, it's nice to see one properly labeled, as searching for Coupe or Spyder GT usually leads to a disappointing handful of Cambiocorsas.
The traditional manual cars seem to be the more reliable of the two options, and do tend to command higher prices. That said, we don't see the problem with the automated-manual. It doesn't quite fit the grand touring theme, but that's what makes it more appealing to us - like Recaro sport seats and a throaty exhaust in an unassuming sedan, often it's the unexpected features of a car that give it the most personality. But enough about paddle shifters, because today we're featuring a 3-pedal manual.
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Year: 2003 Model: Maserati Spyder GT Engine: 4.2L V8 Transmission: 6-speed manual Mileage: 36,464 Price: Auction, est. $30,000-40,000 Location: West Palm Beach, FL
-390 horsepower, 4.2-liter V-8 engine -Desirable six-speed manual transmission -Finished in Mondia Red over black leather interior -Originally sold through Maserati of Washington in Sterling, Virginia -Optional extras included red piping, heated front seats, wind-stop deflector, xenon front lights, skyhook suspension, as well as custom dashboard and lower door panels -Accompanied by original window sticker, factory books, tools, and air compressor -One of 574 Spyder GTs produced from 2001 to 2007
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This example is optioned nicely, with the Skyhook suspension and some tasteful contrast stitching on the inside. When these were on the new-car market, the option book rivaled Porsche, when it came to interior options. Upper and lower door panels and dashboard as well as seats and carpet were all available in a wide array of colors - for a price, of course.
Last week we featured an Alfa romeo 8C Spider at 10 times the price of this Maserati Spyder. With around 500 built of each, if you separate the manual Spyder from the automated-manual Spyder, they are equally rare. The 8C is more of a car of occasion, but we see a tremendous value in the Maserati, which is mechanically similar at one tenth of the cost.
