The best-selling Alfa of all time
Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro in 1971 as an inexpensive compact car with front-wheel drive and a transversely mounted four-cylinder boxer engine, no one suspected that the Alfasud would be particularly susceptible to rust. Instead, the early hatchback was praised, thanks to its technical innovations. It sold like hot cakes. Yet, despite the high production numbers (more than a million were made, an incredible quantity for an Alfa), it is today something special to possess an intact ’Sud, since so many fell victim to tin-worm.
Special edition with tweed and wood
The three-door coupé, the Alfasud Sprint, followed in 1976; and while the saloon was discontinued in 1983, the coupé stayed in production until December 1989 – the later versions sporting plastic bumpers and other changes. Overall, almost 130,000 Sprints were built, so it’s no wonder that there were the occasional special editions. One such was the ‘Trofeo’, referencing the race series of that name, of which only 400 were made. The Alfasud Sprint Veloce 1.5 Trofeo had just under 100HP and reached a claimed top speed of 175km/h. The special had a dark, blue-grey stripe along the waistline, two-colour alloy wheels, an interior in grey tweed, a wooden steering wheel and ‘Trofeo’ lettering – it was also available exclusively in silver-grey metallic paint. But the Trofeo was expensive, typically costing half as much again as a Mk1 Golf GTI.
Unique opportunity
Few could hope to own such an Alfa in the 1980s – either because of the cost, or because the model sold out so fast – but now’s your chance! The pictured Alfasud was owned from 1981 to 2014 by an Italian collector who bought it but never registered it for the road – so he never drove it. It was only on 9 January 2015 that the car was finally registered for the road, in Germany, and it’s now ready and waiting for a new owner. When it comes up for sale on 27 February 2015, at the Auctionata sale in Berlin, it is estimated to fetch 24,000 to 30,000 euros. Certainly not a lot of money for such a unique opportunity.
Photos: Auctionata
