Here’s a rare thing: a rust-free Lancia
– and what a pretty one it is. So many
B e t a s h ave b e e n s c ra p p e d th a t th i s
5 0 k- m i l e 1 9 8 3 exa m p l e i s g o l d d u st.
It’s a left-hooker but that just makes
it more authentic and all the excuse
you need to have that Riviera holiday.
If Andrew Frankel’s V12 tribute got
you thinking, why not try your luck
with this? It’s a 1990/G with 78k
miles, restored in ’07. It’s just had
a gearbox and oil service, plugs and
fu e l p i p e s. I t ’s j u st b e e n Wa xoy l e d , s o
check there’s no rust underneath.
Perhaps not Chrysler’s finest hour,
but today, with the sun blazing,
this Sebring cabrio is tempting.
It’s a genuine four-seater, too. The
2008/08-reg car has done 67,000
miles. There’s no mention of service
history, but it looks pretty straight.
Vauxhall’s trail-blazing plug-in hybrid
could travel 33.4 miles on electric
power. Using its 148bhp 1.4 engine
and regen assistance, it returned
54.2mpg overall. This 2012-reg
Electron version has done 78,000
m i l e s. N ew, i t co st £ 3 1 k p o st- g ra nt.
UNUSUAL
OPEN-TOP
AUTOGOLF IN A
DESIGNER
SUITBUY THEM
BEFORE WE DO
WILD CARD
t the last count
Vol k s wagen had f ive
SUVs in its ranks but, if
you ignore its R and GTI
models, no traditional sports cars.
Rewind to 1989 and the company
had no SUVs but two sports cars: the
Scirocco and Corrado.
Today the Corrado, which was
dropped in 1995, three years after the
Scirocco, is the more sought-after, but
e it he r i n go o d n ic k i s w or t h h av i n g.
The 2.9 VR6 is the most plentiful
Corrado, and prices begin at £3000
for a high-miler. The potent 1.8 G60 is
rare, partly because its supercharger
had a tendency to self-destruct. The
1.8 16v and 2.0 16v versions were
the bread and butter but again, few
remain. That said, we found a 1990
1.8 16v with 82,000 miles and full
service history for £6440.
The remaining model is the 2.0 8v.
L i k e mo s t e i g ht-v a l v e e n g i ne s of t he
time, its power was more immediate
than the peakier 16-valve’s. To our
delight we stumbled across a one-
ow ne r, 1996 2 .0 8 v w it h 5 4 , 0 0 0 m i le s
and full service history (22 service
stamps in the book) for £6000.
W h at t o c he c k? A f au lt y id le
stabilisation control valve can cause
erratic tickover (replacements are
available). With the gearbox still
cold, we’d feel for graunchy first and
second gear selection. On the test
d r i ve , w e ’d e x p e c t s ome lo o s e ne s s
from droplinks and suspension arms.
More serious is the threat of
rust. Front wings and sills corrode,
although the seller claims the
bodywork is in good condition.
Fortunately, the headlights and
foglights look clear – replacement
units are rare and expensive. Finally,
we’d check the dynamic spoiler rises
and falls, and inside, that the round
heating dials aren’t broken.
A
Volkswagen Corrado £ 6000
Vauxhall Ampera
Electron £ 10 ,6 90
Chrysler Sebring
Convertible £ 3750
Lancia Beta S 2
£ 4990
Daimler Double Six
£ 5495
TRAIL-
BLAZING
HYBRIDLUSTABLE
RUST-FREE
RARITY74 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 14 AUGUST 2019