Cheaper with rubber
06/29/2022
American safety regulations, but also changing consumer tastes, have changed many a car, and not always for the better. In the case of the Alfa Romeo Spider and the MGB , rubber-covered bumpers caused criticism, then as now.
For today's classic car buyers, the later versions called "rubber lip" (Alfa Spider) and "rubber boat" (MGB) are significantly less popular than their predecessors. This is clearly reflected in the sales advertisements and in the valuations maintained by Classic Data.
In condition 2, a Fastback Spider 2000 from 1975 to 1983 costs 1.6 times as much as an Alfa Romeo Spider 2.0 from 1984. In the case of the MGB GT, the price of the earlier version beats that of its successor by a factor of 1.3. The funny thing is that when you sit in it and drive it, you hardly notice any of the changes; an early Alfa Spider 2.0 "Aerodinamica" from 1984 drives practically exactly the same as its predecessor. It's not much different with the MGB GT.
Well, you can also rebuild it, but in the case of the Alfa this is quite complex and the conversion costs for the MGB are not negligible either. And it's not original either, even though it was done at the time.
The interesting question is whether future prospective buyers will feel the same way about the appearance of the two cars. Perhaps millennials will one day find the Alfa Spider with rear spoiler more attractive than people do today? But maybe not. After all, later versions have other advantages, are usually better protected against rust and have been refined time and again. For beginners, it might be worth buying the versions that are less in demand today, because they are also a lot of fun.
Incidentally, the most expensive Alfa version is of course the original "1600 Duetto Spider" with the round rear, known from the movie "The Graduate". According to Classic Data , such a car in condition 2 costs a whopping 2.4 times as much as the "rubber lip".
P.S. We recently dedicated a report to the Alfa Romeo Spider 2.0 Aerodinamica , and of course also to the MGB GTwith rubber bumpers.
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