Faults:

It was a fixer.

Had the rusty gas tank reconditioned.

Drive shaft flex joints, timing belt tensioner, muffler. Typical old car stuff like motor mounts, ball joints, tie rod ends, rear brake calipers, and cooling fan.

General Comments:

For me it's the perfect blend of performance, mystique, and usability. This car was a successful Group A racer, and in rallies back in the 80s, yet by simply pulling out the rear seat bottom cushion I can fit my 4-piece drum kit in the car. Parts are available on-line, some more expensive, but generally not unreasonable, especially considering how few of these cars were made. Stay on top of the maintenance and the car is very reliable, not to mention a blast on twisty mountain roads. Wonderful engine. Superb handling. The transmission is in the back, integrated with the differential as a transaxle unit, clutch housing in back as well, with in-bound rear calipers mounted on the transaxle, all done for obtaining a near 50/50 weight balance. They typically have worn synchro for 2nd gear, but you can learn rev-matching and heel-toe downshifting to overcome it.

Some of the costlier maintenance is mainly the drive shaft flex joints (every 50k miles or so) as well as the timing belt, water pump, and possibly tensioner (30k mandatory). Oil changes every 3k are also mandatory, not a deal breaker, but at 7 quarts each change it's a bit more than a typical car (its wet-sump crank case helps cool the engine). The replacement clutch is typically sold as a complete assembly and is expensive too, but is said to last over 150k miles if you drive it correctly (it may be possible to have the clutch relined instead, but it's more labor). Everything else is reasonable for an old import car.

Faults:

Shifter mechanism jammed in the trans-axle. Syncros were also worn and had to be replaced.

General Comments:

A fast, sexy, attention grabbing, tempermental mistress.