Why Didn’t You Just Buy This 1976 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega For $19,800?
Chevrolet doesn’t make affordable sports cars anymore, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a new one. Well, a like-new one.
A 1976 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega with just 3,101 miles on the odometer was recently sold at the Mecum Auctions event in Kissimmee, Fla., for $19,800. The time capsule car is one of the 3,508 that Chevrolet built in 1975 and 1976.
The performance model was the brainchild of non other than John DeLorean, who is credited with launching the muscle car era with the Pontiac GTO and later ended his career in infamy with the failure of his eponymous car company.
DeLorean first commissioned racing engine builder Cosworth to create a competition motor for the Vega, but bailed on that project and pivoted to a street car instead.
Read Also: JERRY SEINFELD JUST REFUSED TO SELL HIS ‘LE MANS’ PORSCHE FOR $25 MILLION
Cosworth fitted electronic fuel injection and 16-valve twin-cam heads to the Vega’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder, which produced 110 hp compared to the base model’s 70 hp. At the time, the Chevrolet Corvette’s V8 made just 165 hp, but the Vega was meant to be more of a budget BMW 2002 competitor and the base version of that car was rated at 98 hp.
The four-speed manual Cosworth Vega could sprint to 60 mph in less than 11 seconds and hit a top speed of 110 mph, which were solid numbers for a sporty subcompact at the time. An upgraded suspension and performance tires on gold aluminum wheels improved the handling of what was Chevrolet’s first hot hatchback.
Read Also: RECORD-SETTING $3.85 MILLION 1967 CHEVROLET CORVETTE L88 STALLS AT AUCTION
Unfortunately, while a lack of power brakes, power steering and air conditioning positioned it as an entry-level sports car, its price did not. The 1976 model ranged from $5,995–$6,066, which was only about $900 less than a Corvette, which is probably why Chevy sold 46,558 of those that year.
Adjusting for inflation, a brand-new Cosworth Vega would cost approximately $33,000 today, which happened to be the starting price for the 2024 Chevrolet Camaro that became Chevy’s last front-engine sports car.
Whether or not $19,800 was a good deal for the car sold at Mecum is up to the buyer, but recent sales suggest it has fans. An even more “like-new” example with just 39 miles on the odometer was sold on Bring A Trailer in 2020 for $48,000.
Read This Next
