Argentinians find stash of never-registered, brand-new 30-year-old Italian cars
While much of the world is sheltering in place, several new, never-registered Italian and French cars exited a 27-year confinement in Argentina. They were left for dead in an abandoned dealership that sold Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Peugeot models in a city named Avellaneda near Buenos Aires, the country's capital.Details surrounding the dealership are murky. Argentina's Autoblog (no relation to us) reported it closed at some point during the 1990s after the owner and his son died in violent circumstances. Automotive archaeology tells your author it likely shut its doors in 1993, because that's the only year in which the first-generation Fiat Ducato launched in 1981 and the post-facelift Fiat Tipo, axed in 1995, overlapped. Both are clearly visible in the photos.What's certain is that someone finally inherited the property in 2020 and wanted the cars gone as quickly as possible in order to sell it. The anonymous owner asked Kaskote Calcos, a local body shop that also runs a used-car lot, to haul them away via Instagram. We're guessing the firm didn't need to be asked twice.> > > > > > > > > > > View this post on Instagram> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > A post shared by Axel By Kaskote👑 (@kaskotecalcos) on Mar 24, 2020 at 1:57pm PDTMany of the cars hidden in the dealership were made by Fiat; the photos show several examples of the Tipo, an Uno, a Tempra, and the aforementioned Ducato. An Alfa Romeo 33 wagon and a Peugeot 405 were also stashed in the trove. Most were stored indoors so they weren't damaged by sunlight or humidity, and images of the cars taken after they were pressure-washed confirm they're in like-new condition inside and out. We're told some even started, though for the love of valves and pistons we hope they got a new timing belt before being fired up. Kaskote Calcos hasn't revealed what it will do with the cars. None are particularly sought-after, they're economy cars that were mass-produced and mass-destroyed, and their current values reflect that. You can get a post-facelift Uno for the price of a few Peroni pints in Italy. The fact that they're new, never-registered examples will undoubtedly increase their appeal, even if registering them could require slashing through jungles of red tape.As a side note, finding a 405 beached in a Fiat dealership isn't as random as it might sound. In 1978, decades before FCA and PSA announced their ongoing merger, Fiat and Peugeot formed a joint venture named Sevel to manufacture and sell cars on the Argentinian market. The Italians took control of the company in 1981, but it continued to build French cars (including the 405) well into the 1990s. The Uno was made locally, too.Related Video: Filed under: Weird Car News,Alfa Romeo,Fiat,Automotive History,ClassicsArgentinians find stash of never-registered, brand-new 30-year-old Italian cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 3 Apr 2020 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
