Volkswagen’s original Scirocco was admittedly not a perfect car, but today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe edition might just be its most perfect example. That’s only if however, its price makes perfect sense.
Let’s say you are a groovy single mom with a pack of squeaky clean kids stuck in the ‘60s, and you drive around the country performing inoffensive but hook-laden pop diddies, what then would be your ride? Well, if you lack the Partridge Family’s tour budget and hence can’t afford that psychedelic school bus then maybe you might find yesterday’s 1961 International C-120 Camper a fitting ride for your musical family.
A whole lot of you were singing its tune as that classic camper came away with a hefty 85% Nice Price win. And that was despite half of you worrying that it would most likely smell like an old sock.
I think we should tally up the works of the most famous Italian designers and see who has penned the greatest number of famous and lust-worthy cars. I’m going to guess that when it comes to the stuff your average Jalop can’t afford the winner would be Pininfarina. Move the needle down the dial however, to cars of a more modest price range, and you’ll likely find Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Italdesign is well in the running.
Today’s 1980 Volkswagen Scirocco is one of Giugiaro’s finest efforts, and this car is claimed to be an award winning example of the breed. It’s also said to be a one-owner car, quite the remarkable achievement for a 37-year old ride. Even more remarkable is that the car has only 35,000 miles on the clock.
Most everything on the car is original, right down to the upholstery and amazingly crack-free dash. There is a period-correct aftermarket stereo with separate graphic equalizer and electric antenna in there too, but otherwise it all looks pretty righteous.
The bodywork is likewise clean, and as it’s claimed to have been garaged all its life, is rust-free. That’s amazing as the bodies for this generation of Scirocco were built by Karmann the company known both for inventing rust, and offering the greatest advances in its application.
That exterior also has some right-for-the-era add-ons, including a reflector panel between the tail lamps that unfortunately required drilling into the plastic bumper for the license plate mount. Up front there’s a Zender (no, not the guy from Cheap Trick) airdam which is a little bit less invasive.
That’s carried around the sides and set off against a set of aftermarket turbine wheels. Red striping on the bumpers and badge recall that of the Rabbit GTI, as does the golf ball shift knob for the five speed transmission.
That tranny is bolted to a 1,588-cc SOHC four that, back in 1980, was claimed to make 78-bhp. The cool thing about transverse FWD VW’s is their Lego-like nature. I’m sure you could drop a 2-litre gen-3 EA888 in here without too much fuss. The mill that’s here looks clean, although there are a number of questionable wires running around it. Perhaps those are related to the “upgraded speakers” that are part of the Clarion sound system the car carries.
New tires are an added incentive for prospective buyers, as is the claim that the car is an award winner. According to the ad it took best interior in a Volkswagen/Audi show in 2000, and second place over all.
What does all that winning cost? Well, in this case the price tag reads $9,950. That’s not chicken feed for a modestly powered car lacking most modern safety and convenience features, but is it too much for what’s now considered to be a classic VW, and furthermore one of the finest examples of the breed?
You decide!
Detroit MI Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Jonvws for the hookup!
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