1983 Alfa Romeo Alfasud SC

Yup, that’s right; this is one of the rarest and most desirable small cars of the eighties, the unicorn-like Alfa Romeo Alfasud.

With just three former keepers, ‘RAB 920Y’ is one of the lusted-after five-door 1.3 SCs. Weighing just 820kgs, the 75bhp boxer engine pushes the Alfasud to 60mph in just under 11 seconds – and it can just about crack the ton with a following wind.

Attracted by its ULEZ-compliance and the low cost of classic car insurance, the seller and her husband bought it for their children to learn to drive in.

Having thus earned themselves the title of Parents of the Year, the Alfasud is  now surplus to requirements and battles for space with an Alfa GTV and six motorcycles. Therefore they feel that now is the time for someone else to enjoy its charms.

Finished in a wonderfully vivid red, the invoices on file show it’s been refreshed here and there over the years, which is hardly surprising given the Alfasud’s reputation…

But, the work’s been done well and while the bonnet is a slightly different shade to the rest of the car, that’s about all we can find to quibble about with regard to the colour matching.

The rest looks great as you walk up to it, with decent panel gaps and a good shine to the paintwork.

Closer inspection does reveal a few issues – you didn’t think you were going to get away scot-free, did you? – and these include some rust around the windscreen, front panel, around the side windows, the bottom of the nearside front door, and under the bonnet.

The nearside door has a few dents in it too, and there is the odd patch of flaking paint, most noticeably around the grille and behind the offside rear wheel. There’re also some cracks to the paintwork around the windscreen and on the bonnet, as well plenty of stonechips and scratches.

But, while the plastic trim might be a bit faded, it’s in a decent condition overall, as is the chrome trim, exterior glass, rubber seals, lamp lenses, and badges.

As for the wheels, while the steel wheels are in a pretty good condition, the black plastic hubcaps have faded and would benefit from being freshened up.

The tyres are delicate 165/70R13, and when it was last serviced in September 2024, the tyre tread depths were measured at between 5 and 6mm all around. That said, they’re a mixed bag and getting on a bit, and given how sublime the chassis is, we can see the new owner might want to put some new rubber on it.

Finally, the nearside mirror isn’t fitted, with the door still enjoying the factory bungs where one would go and we think it looks better without. Ditto the rear wiper; if you’re going to drive a classic car, keeping it original is always better than trying to ‘improve’ it, eh?
 

The interior, with its tweed-like upholstery, is in a very good condition indeed. For a start, the seats, both front and rear, are still nice and plump, with taut covers and no rips, holes, or other damage.  

You may also have noticed that the Alfasud pioneered ‘squircles’ years before the Fiat 500, boasting square window winder handles in addition to the square Pioneer speaker covers we’d all forgotten about until now.

The slim, dished, three-spoke steering wheel sits in front of recessed instruments, and both these, and the switches and controls, have maintained their bright lettering.

And there’s more good news because the carpets still boast the plastic heel protector in the driver’s footwell, and the four door cards are all excellent. The clutch is the only pedal whose rubber shows any wear too, and the plastic trim is all good with no cracks, fading, or other damage.

There’s plenty of fake wood in the cabin, and before you accuse us of being snarky you couldn’t be more wrong because we admire it as a glorious memento of the eighties: legwarmers and eyeliner, shoulder pads and big hair – plus fake wood in our family cars; ah, happy days.

Not that the cabin is completely stuck in the past because the headunit is a Blaupunkt Stockholm with a DAB tuner and Bluetooth that as fitted in April 2024. Retro-looking but featuring all the bells and whistles a 21st teenager demands, it’s an inspired choice and shows just how much the family thought of their baby Alfa.

The boot’s in good shape too, and that includes the parcel shelf, which is free of extraneous holes and warping.

As for problems, the outer edge of the driver’s seat is slightly softened, the gearlever gaiter is torn, the plastic around the ignition switch is slightly degraded, and the bonnet release needs mending.

The grey headlining is also stained, as are a few small areas on the seats.
 

As you can see, the Alfa starts well and settles into a rock-steady idle straightaway. It also revs with gusto and has a nicely fruity exhaust note.

The seller tells us that it had been off the road for a decade or so when they bought it, something the online MoT history confirms. It passed an MoT with only a couple of minor advisories soon after, and they then used it for a few long trips as well as to teach their children to drive, and she recalls a trip from London to the Cotswolds with particular pleasure.

As for the cosmetics, the forward-hinging bonnet reveals an engine that is placed in front of the axle, leaving plenty of room behind it for a second, smaller space beneath the windscreen for miscellanea such as the (new) battery, coil, suspension strut tops, and brake master cylinder. Both sections are in fine fettle, with the inner wings being notable for their gleam and lack of corrosion.

The Alfa was professionally undersealed in April 2024.
 

The Alfasud’s MoT certificate, which is valid until September 2025, had only four minor advisories:

•    Windscreen wiper blade defective
•    Parking brake lever ratchet mechanism obviously worn
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories): 
•    Oil leak, but not excessive Engine
•    Underbody of vehicle is undersealed 

The recent Vehicle History Check is also clear, and the Alfa comes with two sets of keys, both of which still have the plastic key fobs that Stoulton Motors, the supplying dealer, put on them back on the 18th of March 1983. (In case you were wondering, Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler was #1 that week, although Duran Duran would soon push her off the top spot with Is There Something I Should Know?)

The original invoice for £4,462 is in the file too, along with the Instruction and Service Coupon books, plenty of invoices for past servicing and repairs, and a bunch of old MoT certificates.
 

Classic & Sports Car said of the Alfasud: “Expertly packaged and engineered without compromise, this enigmatic, boxer-engined family saloon for the 1970s set standards of road behaviour, refinement and driver appeal that its rivals were still struggling to match in the early 1980s, a full decade after the model’s production began.”

There’s not much we can add to that except to remind you that classic cars fall broadly into two categories: show-winning cars you’ll be afraid to use, and the rest.

This is one of the latter, and given how well the Alfasud drives, you should be glad of that. Yes, it’s going to need some bodywork, but that’s all part of the Alfasud experience.

In the meantime, you’ve got a solid example – the last time an MoT tester mentioned corrosion was back in 2012 – that still looks terrific and drives well.

This means you can sort out its (relatively few) problems as and when funds become available.

Mind you, if our estimate is anything to go by, there may well be a little something left in the kitty anyway because we suspect the virtual hammer will fall somewhere between £5,000 and £10,000, but as it is being offered with no reserve it’s going to sell no matter what.

Why so low? Well, classic car owners can also be split into two groups: those who dare follow their dreams – and those who daren’t.

Which one are you?

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