I’ve given up trying to chronicle every eighties vehicle sold at any particular auction—there’s often an endless sameness to them. So, we’re going to only write about the cars and trucks that are less seen at auction—and those that sold (a Venetian Blue Porsche 911 Cabriolet with a blue top and coupe with blue leather bucket seats was a no sale at $45,000). Here are ten at the 2021 Mecum Orlando that attracted my eye, described in more detail than usual.
[Lot W67] 1987 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. Medium Canyon Red with scarlet cloth front bucket seats. Lima 190 bhp 2.3 liter/140 ci inline four with fuel injection and a turbocharger mated to a five-speed manual. $9,000 hammer price for this somewhat faded example of the expensively facelifted ninth-generation ‘bird.
[W149] 1985 Ford Bronco II SUV. Light Regatta Blue/Wimbledon White two-tone with regatta blue cloth front bucket seats. Cologne 115 bhp 2.8 liter/170 ci V6 with a two-barrel carburetor paired with a five-speed manual. $15,000 is a lot for a Bronco II, but the rising Bronco tide seems to be lifting all boats.
[T81] 1988 Mazda RX7 convertible. Sunrise Red with a black top and gray cloth front bucket seats. 13B 146 bhp 1.3 liter/80 ci twin-rotor with fuel injection paired with a five-speed manual. Second-generation RX7’s are rare at auction—at least in the US. At $10,000, what would you do with this non-Turbo car with unstated mileage?
[T134] 1986 Lincoln Town Car Cartier Edition sedan. Crystal Clearcoat Metallic with a Dove Gray vinyl top and oxford gray leather seats with cloth inserts. Windsor 150 bhp 4.9 liter/302 ci V8 with fuel injection, a four-speed automatic, and 22,000 miles. $16,500. I now like these cars—especially the special editions—much more than I did when they were new. In 1986, the Cartier Edition cost about 22% more than the base Town Car.
[F209] 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442 coupe. Burgundy Metallic/Silver Metallic two-tone with maroon cloth front bucket seats. LG8 170 bhp 5.0 liter/307 ci V8 with a four-barrel carburetor paired with a four-speed automatic. $12,500. The rear-wheel-drive Cutlass was fading away by 1987, with the Calais name already moved to the newer front-wheel-drive car. 1987 was the final year for the rear-wheel-drive 442, whose lineage stretched back to 1964.
[F228.1] 1986 Ferrari 328 GTS coupe. Rosso Corsa with tan leather bucket seats. F105B 260 bhp 3.2 liter/195 ci V8 with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, 51,000 miles, and a recent major service. $80,000 is slightly over #2/Excellent money for a 328 GTS, according to Hagerty’s valuation tools.
[F261] 1983 Jeep J10 Laredo pickup truck. Olympic White with tan/brown cloth/vinyl front bucket seats. AMC 175 bhp 5.9 liter/360 ci V8 with a two-barrel carburetor and an automatic. $29,500 doesn’t come close to matching the J10 Honcho that sold at this year’s Mecum Indy—but it’s still good money.
[S86] 1983 DeLorean DMC-12 hatchback coupe. Stainless Steel (of course) with gray leather bucket seats. PRV 130 bhp 2.8 liter/174 ci V6 with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 22,000 miles. $50,000 is solid money for a DMC-12.
[S93] 1987 Porsche 930 Turbo coupe. Guards Red with champagne leather front bucket seats. 282 bhp 3.3 liter/201 ci flat six with fuel injection and a turbocharger, a four-speed manual, and 46,000 miles. $260,000 for this “factory custom” with many unusual touches created by the first iteration of Porsche’s Sonderwunsch (Special Wishes) program.
[S131] 1984 Aston Martin Lagonda Series 2 sedan. Gold with creme leather front bucket seats. 200 bhp 5.3 liter/327 ci V8 with four two-barrel carburetors and a three-speed automatic. $100,000 for this car once owned by Mike Tyson. When I was a teenager, I loved the Lagonda’s exterior design. Now, it seems a little overwrought—and those at-the-time bleeding-edge interior electronics are not easy to keep functioning. Still, you won’t see yourself coming and going.
Eighties Cars 