Daily Driver Italian: 1979 Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce
There’s a whole untapped legion of interesting enthusiast cars that fly beneath the radar, or too close to models that came before or after and proved to be far more popular. This 1979 Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce is a great example of a model that deserves our respect but gets lost when stacked up against the later GTV6 or the GTV that came before it. The Sprint may look all the world like a GTV6, but it is its own unique breed of Alfa. This Sprint is said to run very well and feature a surprisingly nice interior but does have some rust; it’s listed for sale here on eBay with a suggested opening bid of $10,000 and no action yet.
The bodywork looks tidy on this example, which resides in California and appears to wear Washington State license plates. This should bode well for its integrity, which is far from a given. Alfa Romeos born before a certain age were exceptionally prone to rust, and I can show you photos of GTV6s I’ve found in New England wrecking yards that are seemingly held together with hopes and dreams considering how rotten they were. The seller’s car does not appear to have that problem, but I also don’t have a clear sense of where the rust issues he discloses are located – he states there are “…normal rust issues as are with this model/age.”
The engine bay is clean and nicely detailed. The painted air cleaner with the Alfa Romeo logo is a nice touch, and the seller has replaced some basic tuneup parts to make it a smooth runner. The hoses and wires appear new, and the valve cover looks like it was recently painted. Engine displacement ranged from 1.2 to 1.7L which may not seem like much, but these weren’t heavy cars and Alfas were built to rev. The seller’s recent maintenance work includes a new fuel pump, drive belts, and ignition tumbler (if I’m reading his ad correctly.) The smog equipment has been removed but retained; a California buyer will need to reinstall it to pass inspection.
The interior is a highlight by itself, as it remains in excellent original condition. The chocolate brown bucket seats show little in the way of flaws, and the same goes for the crack-free dash. The seller notes the headliner is likewise in excellent shape. The listing mentions mileage as being 45,000, and while odometers were notorious for failure at this point in history, the unrestored interior really does seem to suggest that it’s a real-deal low mileage car. Looking at the photos again, you can see rust in the doors and beneath the taillights. In the case of a car that is otherwise so clean, it seems worthy of the next owner’s time to get that rust under control and keep this clean Alfa Sprint Veloce from becoming a parts car.
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Comments
Cool car,but the seller needs to lower the opening
bid price.
I think you nailed it, daily driver. A friend had one and drove it daily to its well deserved grave. Regular maintance was all he ever did. He has a lift at home and has a good look around during every oil change so items were replaced before breaking.
These love to be driven and are lovely to drive.
Beautiful, but I think I can hear it rusting from here. Please, anything but rust.
Most things can be reasonable fixed or replaced, rust is something beyond easy repairs with my limited skill level (or my wallet, for someone ‘hopefully’ good). Or, drive it into the ground as is, but this is too painful I think for most.
Good luck, but hard pass (or as hard as a rusty door skin or quarter panel can be).
I had one of these in the mid 80s. They are 2.0 liter with mechanical plunger pump fuel injection like a diesel. Mine was very reliable but I maintained it beyond religiously. It was absolutely the most fantastically neutral handling car I have ever driven. They have a rear transaxle for close to 50/50 weight distribution. It handled better stock than my modified BMW 2002. If the rust isn’t too bad, this is a fantastic, unusual, fun little car.
Thia is not an Alfa Sprint; it’s a rwd 4 cylinder GTV, what came before the GTV6.
The Sprint is known also as Alfasud and was a fwd with a boxer 1.5 or 1.75 engine. See a Sprint here: https://www.classicitaliancarsforsale.com/1983-alfa-romeo-alfasud-sprint-1-5-qv/
Note it says Sprint Veloce (not just Sprint), which was the correct name for ’78-79 North American versions of this model.
That said, the writeup’s mention of engine sizes “from 1.2 to 1.7L” probably drew from the Alfasud-based Sprint by mistake, which did have engines in those sizes, whereas this model never had engines in either of those sizes.
This model debuted in ’74 as the Alfetta GT with a 1.8L engine, then for ’76 was split into Alfetta GT 1.6 and Alfetta GTV 2.0 versions in Europe, though the latter name was never officially used here, in favor of Sprint Veloce when they upgraded the engine to the 2-liter here for ’78.
Looks like a funky home made air filter housing..
By the way … “ignition tumbler” is the ignition lock and key …
I suspect that if attacked quickly this car can be saved. The biggest problem these cars had was Russian Steel. To say it was substandard was an understatement. I do not know the details but Italy and Russia did a trade deal and Italy got steel that in most countries would be considered trash. Italy did not have much of a choice and used it in Fiats, Alfas that adsorbed most of it. I think Ferrari, Maserati and Lambo. used a better quality of stuff as they knew what was happening.
I can second that these are wonderful cars to drive. Very comfortable with great chassis, brakes and the view out is excellent. The drive train is very reliable if you do not mess with it. Long trips are easy and it will hold a lot. The thing I disliked the worst was the Tachometer in front of the steering wheel and the rest of the gages including the speedometer off to the side. Looked sporting but was a pain in the ass for daily driving. There were a very few with modified dashes in a more normal position but I believe you had to be somebody to get them. Only a handful were made.
These are elegant cars. Like the 2000 GTV before them, in looks performance, they are simple elegant and extremely useful. I wish ALFA would start stamping new replacement bodies for these in proper materials with proper rust proofing I think they would have a winner.
CA smog will try one’s patience so a destination/registration in a more lenient state is recommended.
Normal rust issues….. Translated to EVERYWHERE, usually well hidden under windshield and back glass moldings, inner fender house and more. Eastern European substandard steel was used in manufacture resulting in these gems literally rusting on dealers lots. Structural integrity was an issue with this body, where Alfa Romeo stated, do not place on a lift with the windshield removed. Fun cars requiring attentive maintenance , institutional knowledge before acquisition, and care. Better suited with the 2.5 Liter V6 and posi Verde DeDeon rear transaxle.
Alphasud (contributer), we need YOU to comment ??
Auction ended with no takers.
i love these cars ……..
Ended: Feb 10, 2022 , 5:09PM
Starting bid:US $10,000.00
[ 0 bids ]
Located in:San Francisco, California,
Item relisted:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/154853398426?ViewItem=&item=154853398426&vxp=mtr
same result
Ended: Feb 23, 2022 , 9:16PM
Starting bid:US $9,000.00
[ 0 bids ]