An Ultra-Rare Italdesign Aztec Is Going Up for Auction This Month

Still nostalgic for the 1980s. Here’s one auction you’ll want to keep an eye on.

Broad Arrow Auction will put one of the decade of decadence’s most outrageous cars, the Italdesign Aztec, up for bid at this year’s Monterey Car Week. The stylish roadster isn’t just the sort of car that makes people look, it’s also exceedingly rare, with less than two dozen examples making it out into the world.

The Aztec was one of three cars, alongside with the Asgard space wagon (or van) and Aspid coupé, unveiled by Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Italdesign in 1988 to celebrate its 20th anniversary. All three vehicles shared a futuristic aesthetic that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a movie like Blade Runner or RoboCop, which is little surprise considering the firm designed the DeLorean DMC-12. The Aztec was the sportiest of the trio by far, thanks to its clean lines, large rear wing, and unique seating configuration that gave the driver and passenger their own separate cockpits. Wondering how to get into those cockpits? The car is outfitted with two standard doors and a pair of gullwing-style canopies that tilt up to allow entrance.

Initially meant to just be a one-off concept, the Aztec would go into production, but, as tends to happen when a sports car lacks institutional backing, things didn’t go to plan, according to the listing. A company called Compact licensed the design and intended to build 50 examples exclusively for the Japanese market, but “less than 25”—and reportedly just 18—would end up being built.

The Aztec that Broad Arrow is selling is chassis no. 12. Like the first Aztec that debuted at the Turin motor show, the two-seater is finished in silver with glossy black accents. It is powered by a mid-mounted Audi-sourced turbocharged inline-five mated to a five-speed manual transaxle gearbox and the all-wheel-drive system from a Lancia Delta. This example has just 295 miles on the odometer and underwent a “mechanical refreshing” in March of this year.

The rare roadster is one of the headline lots of Broad Arrow’s Monterey Car Week auctions, which will be held at the California city’s Jet Center from Wednesday, August 14, to Thursday, August 15. The auction house expects the car to sell for between $275,000 and $325,000.

Click here for more photos of the 1988 Italdesign Aztec.

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