Jeremy Clarkson once sagely opined that Alfa Romeo ownership was the mark of the true auto enthusiast. Today’s GTV6 could just be that opportunity. That is, as long as its price isn’t truly too high.

Fun fact: most old cars don’t generally drive like their modern descendants. Some do, the first generation VW GTI as example might be slower than the current model, but its ride and handling and general comfort probably wouldn’t feel out of place today.

The same can’t be said for cars like last Friday’s which not only boasted one of the longest names of its era, but also had the honor of being one of the last body-on-frame mid-size cars offered to American car buyers. That style generally provided for a quiet, almost isolated ride, but didn’t go a long way toward maximizing space or minimizing weight. That’s pretty much why we don’t do them any more.

You know what else we don’t do? We don’t spend $18,999 for even pristine examples of that bygone era coupe. At least that was the consensus of the 77 percent of you voting down that homologation Monte Carlo in a Crack Pipe loss. These days they run Toyota Camry bodies in NASCAR so I hope you all recognize the gravity of that result.

Friday’s Monte Carlo may have represented an end of an era for GM’s RWD personal coupes, but over in Italy, they were keeping the spirit alive.

This could be construed as the Italian equivalent of those American Coupes, the T-bird, Monte Carlo, Grand Prix and the like. Unlike the American coupes, which were generally built with style over performance, the GTV6 was imbued with a some pretty out there kit right from day one.

The GTV was based on the Alfetta sedan, which was introduced all the way back in 1974. The Alfetta family offered up some pretty crazy specs for its price segment, including a rear transaxle, inboard disc brakes, and De Dion rear suspension. The coupe was originally called the Alfetta GT and featured a range of DOHC four cylinder engines. As was typical of Alfa at the time, the Alfetta sedan’s styling was handled in-house, while the coupe would feature designer clothes. In the case of the GT that meant Italdesign threads.

The GTV6 derivation arrived in 1980 with updated (meaning lots more plastic bits) styling and a 2.5-litre SOHC V6. The “Busso” V6 actually made its debut in the eponymously named Alfa 6 a year earlier, and featured a somewhat complex mechanism for valve actuation where intakes were moved directly via the single cam while the exhausts operated off the cam through short push rods. In the GTV6 it also got Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection, and that required a bump on the hood so as to clear the plenum. Power in U.S. guise was 154 horsepower, and 152 ft-lb of torque.

The seller of this GTV6 claims it to be “enthusiast owned” so I guess he’s read that Clarkson quote too and hence has established his own bonafides. Lah-dee-freaking-dah.

He describes the car as being in excellent condition both inside and out, and notes that the white paint is a rare choice on these models. That paint covers a body that looks to be in terrific shape and which sits on what he says are Speedline wheels but in fact look a lot like they were pulled off of the FWD Alfa 164. If that’s the case you might want to check the offset and ask how long they’ve been doing duty here.

Inside things are pretty nice, with front seats that show their age, but don’t seem to have opened up anywhere, and back seats that look as fresh as the Prince of Bel Air. The dash does show some significant cracking in contrast to the rear pews.

It should be noted that, while the car is a hatchback, these were never intended for utilitarian duty. The rear seats don’t fold down, and the single center-mounted gas strut precludes any tall cargo back there either.

That’s okay because the added structure between the wheel arches in back means a stiffer platform and better handling out of its funky rear suspension. The seller says you can enjoy that without pause as the engine runs strong and the five-speed transaxle shifts without so much as a gronk. That’s impressive since Alfa seemingly made the synchros on these boxes out of hard cheese or the like and they are a common failure point. Also the Giubos—they tend to die an untimely death too.

Here, everything is said to be alive and kicking, even the electrics which is yet another impressive feat.

No mileage is given but the title is clean and the car is said to be well sorted. The price is set at $6,995, which is a drop from its initial offering earlier this month. Is there something the seller isn’t telling us?

We’ll just have to speculate and then vote on that price based on what is disclosed in the ad. What do you think, is this cool old Alfa worth that $6,995 asking? Or, is this a GTV6 priced to GTFO?

You decide!

Portland, OR , or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to Windadvisory for the hookup!

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