One of the things that both the Italians and French are good at, besides making love, cooking and fine wine is manufacturing desirable small cars. When tasked with designing and selling executive-sized sedans, this is where both countries come up short. As interesting as their offerings have been at times, they never really took off, with exception of the Citroën DS. One very forgotten executive sedan from Alfa Romeo is the 6. These were not huge sellers, with only a shade over 12,000 produced from 1979 to 1986. As a result, examples which survive to this day are in extremely rare company.

They were well equipped cars, however, featuring rear-wheel drive, with power steering, power windows, electric mirrors and central locking, along with a limited slip differential as standard. Minor styling tweaks came along for 1983, along with this car’s engine, the 2.5 liter VM 5 cylinder turbodiesel. This particular 6 that is for sale in Spain has the five cylinder turbo diesel engine which was related to the diesel engine that Jeep offered in their Cherokee for certain overseas markets. This 2.5 liter, overhead valve engine pumped out 103 horsepower and produced a respectable 177 lb ft. of torque. It's not the optimal choice for enthusiasts, but with cars these rare, beggars can't be choosers.

1985 Alfa Romeo 6 2.5 TD

Alfa Romeo 6 2.5 TD, fabulous limited edition! Brand new car that belongs to a private collection. Always garaged. Sold only by lack of space.

At €8,000 (~ $10,500 USD), this is not a cheap '80s Alfa. I’m not sure if I would be the type of person to pay for such nostalgia and one must consider that parts must be awfully difficult to source for a vehicle built in such small numbers with a near non-existent following. The diesel engine does add a bit of durability into the package and hopefully this car can find a good home where it can be preserved as one of the last of its kind.

-Paul