DTO: USDM Alfetta: 1979 Alfa Romeo 2000 Sport Sedan
This was the car that Ferris Bueller’s friend Cameron called a piece of crap in John Hughes’s 1986 epic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It is the kind of car driven by the kids of wealthy Ferrari GTO owners back in the day, but few have survived to be seen on the street now. Find this 1979 Alfa Romeo 2000 Sport Sedan
offered for $24,900 buy-it-now on ebay, located in Syosset, NY.
The mid-sized Alfa was known as the Alfetta around the world, but in 1979 was sold as the Alfa Romeo 2000 Sport Sedan in North America. It looks like a strange offspring of a Saab 99 and an E12 BMW 5 Series…and I say that in a good way.
Maybe it is the showroom fresh appearance of this Alfetta, but the proportions, style and general look are oddly appealing. The price tag..not so much. As much as folks malign Alfa Romeo for reusing old technology repeatedly, the Alfetta was the first to use the torque tube with rear mounted transaxle and de Dion beam in the back.
Under the hood is a version of Alfa Romeo’s 2.0 liter dual-overhead-cam inline-4 that can be seen in all manner of Milanese badged automobile. Unfortunately the smog Nazis had taken their toll and in 1979 the US market 2.0 liter SPICA fuel injected version made something less than the 130 horsepower in other regions.
The only logical interior seat covering to go with a prosthetic limb cream exterior is something that looks like it came from Skinned Muppet Monthly Magazine. But if you are going to try and re-live life from your coke hazed youth, it may as well be in something appropriately colored (coke stained dash notwithstanding).
The wheels on this thing are mag alloys cast by Italian Campagnolo or Cromodora and look like a million books…but will be impossible to keep clean.
One more thing…this exact same car was offered for sale (with much less impressive photos) in 2012 but failed to meet reserve at $8,500. Find the old listing here on Bring a Trailer.
See a better Alfetta Sport Sedan? tips@dailyturismo.com
It takes a lot of confidence to push a $20K starting bid when it failed to sell for less than half that two years ago. Also, this same auction failed to move it two months ago. Stock market is doing well, but, really, this well?
The photography makes it look like they took pictures of a very well detailed scale model car. Of course, the very nice photography does not make it worth 3X market value.
The question at the end of this feature is "See a better Alfetta Sport Sedan?" I think the more appropriate is "See any other Alfetta Sport Sedan?" These are uber-rare these days – particularly in places where the roads get salted (like Syosset, NY). Of course, that rarity does not make it worth 3X market value either.
In fact, nothing makes it worth 3X market value (that's why it's called "market value"). As evidenced by the lack of having sold it in two years – even with the benefit of BaT exposure. Yes, the classic car market is better now. So maybe it's over-priced by 2X now, instead of 3X.
By the way, DT, great line: "The only logical interior seat covering to go with a prosthetic limb cream exterior is something that looks like it came from Skinned Muppet Monthly Magazine."
Although this certainly looks like a great example and the presentation is top-notch, that doesn't change the fact that these were unremarkable cars and the beginning of the end for Alfa in the USA. The seller has one too many zeros in the price.