Trade Me has lurched back to life in recent days giving me hope that a flood of peculiar motorcars will soon issue forth. One vendor is tantalising me with the threat to sell an NSU Ro 80 but I have listed his equally terrifying Fiat 130 in the meantime. These are cars to make the Aesthete tremble and shake with barely suppressed desire so watch this column for future developments.
Oh yes, the song. I am not sure if any of you are bothering to listen but I regard the perusing of queer old cars while listening to pop obscurities to be like coffee and cake – things that are meant to go together. Take a little trip with Eric Burden on a funky groove that belies the thirty eight years that have passed since it was recorded.
1970 Bond Equipe GT. The Bond Equipe was an elegant fibreglass bodied coupe built on a Triumph Vitesse chassis. Early models used the Herald's doors and scuttle resulting in unfortunate proportions but the replacement was all new and only marred by the small wheels of the parent car. The two-litre six gives solid performance and there is a lot more room than you will find in a GT6. For: Clever, fun and cheap. Against: Can be nasty if neglected.
1971 Lancia Fulvia Rallye 1.3S. Ignore what are possibly the worst vendor pics in Trade Me history and dwell instead on one of the best small sporting cars ever made. The Fulvia offered both refinement and performance in a factory designed coupe body. This low head light version is a good pick within the complex range and is New Zealand new. For: Do you want me to say all that again? Against: If the vendor says it is rusty proceed with caution.
1975 Fiat 130. Don't snigger but consider for a moment what Fiat had to do to compete with Mercedes and BMW in the 1970s. The production of formal Lancia saloons stopped with the Flaminia and Fiat was left to provide something with suitable gravitas to take its place. The 130 may look like a scaled up 125 but it was powered by a silky V6 and fitted out to a very high standard. There has been nothing like it in the Fiat range since. This is the final 3.2 litre version for added autostrada capability. For: Italian gentleman's express. Against: Fist sized holes. Everywhere.
1981 Austin Princess 2 HL. Okay, you can laugh now. The Princess was launched to great fanfare to replace Alec Issigonis' idiosyncratic 1800 and its space age looks carried great expectations. Unfortunately the workers entrusted to put them together were from another era altogether and the tawdry cabin decor added to the general level of failed ambition. This model has the much improved OHC motor and the auto box actually suits it. For: Buy one for Blighty. Against: Too much to go into here really.
1985 Alfa Romeo GTV6. Another considerable essay in wedge architecture, the Alfetta derived GTV6 packaged the rear mounted transaxle with the new V6 produced for the doomed luxury Alfa Romeo 90 saloon. Unspeakable adversity was thus turned into triumph and owners thrilled to a car that could finally perform like it looked. This example comes in fully loaded specification from Canada and has a desirable leather interior. Va va voom. For: Pretty. Goes fast. Against: Lengthy storage can cause issues.
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