The Fiat X1/9 was not the first mid-engined sports car sold to the masses with low power and good handling, but it combined sharp angular styling (by Bertone) with a sub 2000 lb curb weight that made Porsche 914 owners green with jealousy. The little X1/9 is a slow car that is fun to drive […]
The Volvo 780 was a limited production (~8,500 examples built from ’86-’91) 2-door coupe version of the popular 700-series sedan (’82-’92), of which 1.4 million were produced. The unique body was designed and built by Carrozzeria Bertone in Turin, Italy and was thankfully free from the silly vinyl top that covered the top of the earlier 262C Bertone Coupe. Find this 1989 Volvo 780 Bertone Coupe offered for $3500 in Southern Maine via facecoupe marrakesh.
In an earlier post today, I wrote; Anybody who tells you that you need to spend a bunch of money to drive a nice classic car is full of it. But some of you felt that the N600 is just a bit too pedestrian, too slow, and not going to be fun, fast, or exciting to drive. Okay. I know what you want. You want something, a little more…Italian, but for the same low price. Ok, I’ve got something in mind. Find this 1973 Fiat 850 Sport Spider offered for $6990 in Orange County, CA via craigslist.
This next car is a real international traveler. No…not the Scout…I’m talking about a car that was born in the mind of a Swede named Jan Wilsgaard and assembled in a factory by Italians at Gruppo Bertone in Turin, Italy with an engine made in France (the PRV6)…and it is now being offered for sale on […]
Leather. Wood. Chrome. Black Vinyl Top. Volvo. Are these words that go together? Someone thought so in the late ’70s, strongly enough to create the Swedo-Italian personal luxury car that only true Volvo nuts and weird car fetishists could love. Find this 1978 Volvo 262C Bertone for sale in Portland, OR for $3,500 via the […]
The Volvo 262C Bertone was a multinational affair long before the world became as hyper-globalized as it is today. The coupe variant of Volvo’s 200-series that featured a chop-top vinyl covered greenhouse designed by a Swede, assembly at the Bertone factory in Turin, Italy, and with an engine from France. It was one of the […]
The Super Bowl has been about extravagance in recent decades. Take the numbers for instance — no plebeian Arabic numbers, and instead the Super Bowl is designated with big BOLD Roman numerals, just like the football games back in ancient Rome played to the death in the Colosseum. Big BOLD commercials where advertisers spend millions […]
Inexplicably, my preoccupation with Italian autos continues. Maybe it was too many episodes of Magnum PI as a kid, or maybe I just want to test my tinkering abilities…and patience! An intriguing dilemma indeed, but one I suspect I will need to eventually fulfill. Is a Fiat the way to go? Find this 1978 Fiat […]
In the early days of the horseless carriage, if you wanted a nice car, you picked your frame/running gear and then found a coachbuilder to make the body. This was the recipe for expensive cars until the auto manufacturers decided they wanted 100% of the pie and started putting fancy bodies on their frames. Oddly […]
by Brian — The Fiat X 1/9 was the first affordable mid-engine sports car for the masses. It has all of the looks of a Ferrari or a Lamborghini but at a much cheaper price, and with a removable top. The X 1/9 was produced from 1972-1989, but we did not see the X until […]