Tag Archives: on sale

getting unreachable?

As you probably realise, my ‘holy grail’ dream car (in ANY price range) is the Alpine-Renault A110 1600s.  This has been the case for approximately the last 5-6 years.  However in that 5-6 years I have watched the selling price of the A110 start to soar from about $40-$50k back then to ranging from $80k to well over $150k for excellent 1600s examples these days.  I’ve been told the market for A110s really soared a couple of years ago when the Japanese started buying them up and taking them back to Japan.  Sure there are cheaper versions like the 1300s which can be had for less, and the 1100s which can be had for even less—-but it is getting harder and harder to find good A110s on sale, and i’m just hoping that by the time i get in the market for one (i hope this DOES happen), that prices haven’t soared to even more rocketing avenues.    The ‘other market’ versions of the A110 such as the mexican-built Dinalpines have also kept the market value down, as many have been unearthed and sold outside of Mexico in recent years—-adding to the total # of A110s in circulation.

My mostly ignorant, non-professional estimate is that the prices have now ‘capped’ for the A110 for the time being.  I don’t think “Alpine-Renault” rings a bell with the collector market the way “Ferrari” or “Maserati” or “Porsche” does, so i really can’t see these moving too much further upmarket.   Here’s hoping they stay in this range, or even start falling a bit when the nostalgic rally fan from the 60s starts giving up their cars.

In a brief search on carandclassic.co.uk, i found these examples:

£78500

£57500

 

this absolutely stunning 1968 1300s is selling for £52500, proof that even the smaller engine variant is building up a following.

 

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Abarth Simca 2000.

IEDEI prefers small coupes over everything else in the automotive world—-and part of the reason I get so obsessed with the idea of small rounded coupes is because they have so much character.  This one is no exception! the Abarth Simca 2000.

Capable of handing the Porsche 904 it’s own ass as well!  Impressive.  202 hp in such a tidy little package.

Most people associate Abarth with Fiat, but a very successful liaison was also formed with Simca. The French company was partly owned by Fiat, and when they wanted to appeal to a younger market with a more sporting image, they turned to the Italian giant for help.

Fiat in turn went to Abarth, who received sponsorship from the larger company. A deal was struck whereby Simca shipped floor pans of their 1000 Sabour to Abarth, who then cut 4″ out of the chassis and built handsome lightweight aluminum bodies around them.

The engine was an all-Abarth 1300cc four-cylinder twin-cam unit which produced up to 140 bhp and was mounted in the rear, while suspension was nearly stock Simca 1000, incorporating a transverse front leaf spring with telescopic dampers and upper wishbones and rear semi-trailing arms a la Porsche.

With this car, Abarth won the World Championship for Makes in 1962. The racing version of the Abarth Simca was developed throughout the 1960s, and the winning design was found to be more than a match for its competitors. In two-liter, 202 bhp specification, the Simca Abarth was easily able to beat the Porsche 904 on the track and won the European Mountain Climb Challenge outright.

http://www.sportscardigest.com/car-profile-abarth-simca-2000/#ixzz1IgpH7KNo 


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