This Is The Chevy Vega That Cosworth Transformed Into A Hot Hatch Hero
To fully understand and appreciate this week’s quirky classified find, a brief history lesson is required on the Chevrolet Vega. It was one of - if not the worst - American car of the 1970s. It wasn’t terrible to look at, but it was as reliable as your out-of-work uncle and tended to rust at the mere thought of moisture. The Vega only lasted from 1971 to 1977, and if the car miraculously lasted more than a couple years, its weak four-cylinder engine would bore drivers to death. Even for a 1000kg subcompact, it was positively underwhelming.
But then something very curious happened in 1975. A limited number of these miserable little hatchbacks got black paint with gold trim, tweaked suspension, and an all-aluminum 2.0-litre DOHC Cosworth four-cylinder driving the rear wheels through a four-speed manual. It was the first production Chevrolet to feature electronic fuel injection, and though mandated emissions regulations choked the rev-happy mill to just 110bhp, it was still enough to make the Vega something of a hot little racer.
Chevrolet built a total of just 3508 Cosworth Vegas in 1975 and 1976. They were cool cars for the era, but even a Cosworth mill couldn’t stave off the Vega’s reputation for being a pile of crap. When Chevrolet dumped the Vega completely in 1977, few people mourned its passing. That is, except for the Cosworth.
And that brings us to this particular 1975 Cozzy Vega, currently selling on eBay in Plymouth, Michigan for a very lofty $22,900. Whether or not it brings that much is anyone’s guess; its status as both a cool and rare 1970s performance car combined with its terrible lineage leaves this one completely up in the air. That’s especially true when the car is all original with just 24,000 miles, and this one is also listed as a first place Autorama winner. That’s a big deal, because Autorama is one of the most prestigious custom and classic auto shows in the United States. To win there, a car needs to be special, so if any Vega has the chops to bring some respectable coin, this could be it.
I’m still not sure it’s $22,900 special; I’ve seen a few of these cars for sale over the years and they were always in the $10,000 range. Then again, I’ve never seen a Cosworth Vega quite as nice as this one appears to be. And for once we have a seller who understands how to properly sell a car online. There are plenty of great photos, solid vehicle information without going crazy on details, and no extraneous information on classic car markets, how great their dealership is, encyclopedia-length instructions on how to use eBay, and most importantly, no mention of the mythical “Jerry” who once owned 1000 cars.
I’ve always had a soft spot for cars that most people hate. Yes, that means I’d even geek out over a standard Vega in good shape, but the Cosworth Vegas are in a different category altogether. They didn’t just have a stellar engine; the suspension tuning actually turned these subcompacts into amazingly well-balanced sports cars. They were definitely built for enthusiasts - air conditioning and power steering were not available, and by keeping things light, the Cosworth Vega made the most of its decidedly non-traditional engine. As such, these cars were never really hated like their standard Vega siblings, and though I’m not sure it’s loved enough to bring $22,900, the Cosworth Vega has certainly earned its place in performance automotive history.
Comments
It needs to have the 76 only 5 speed and optional upgraded rear end to fetch that money. With those options these cars can take a Porsche of the same age. Which is saying something. Although it’s only a-$900 short of a corvette brand new-something.
Its worth as much as a 1976 Corvette today too.
Ugly looking car that people only like because they want to be different
I and many others who dislike the vega feel that the looks were none of the Vega’s problems (most of those are found in the engine bay). It’s a rather charming looking 1/2 scale Camaro and the Cosworth bits replace all the sucky stuff except for the rusting (something all cars of the era did).
really, thats why a million Chevy Vegas were sold in the first three model years. ALOT of people wanted to be different I guess huh?
Ugly is relative ….and subjective. but still you’re wrong technically.
I’m not going to mention that the corvette was the first Chevy car with EFI, but I love these old Vegas and Chevette’s.
How were corvettes the first with efi the 6 cyl corvettes had mechanical injection after that it wasn’t until the tpi sbc came that fuel injection was seen again in a corvette as far as I’m aware
Yea the Corvette and the full size Chevy were the first with mechanical fuel injection The Cosworth was first with ELECTRONIC fuel injection.
I guess this could have been the Sierra Cosworth of the 70’s in North America
American Mus… i mean rice
Vegas were made in Ohio, USA (some in Canada)
Its worth 10,000 (condition 2) if its low miles and concours (condition 1) its worth 14,000. These figures have stayed flat for 10 years.
It has gone up tp $20,000 for 76 models in condtion 1
Road Test October 1976, “The Great Supercoupe Shootout” — Alfa vs. Mazda vs. Lancia vs. Saab vs. Cosworth Vega said: “The Chevrolet Cosworth Vega is the only American car worthy of the lot. It is more than just some little super coupe…the one thing with the Cosworth that sets it apart from the others is the engine. Stock it has 110 horsepower but it should be good for at least 200 and still be streetable.” “The results are in Figure 2. Read ’em and weep, all you foreign-is-better nuts, because right there at the top, and by a long way at that, is the Cosworth Vega. It had the fastest 0-60 time, the fastest quarter-mile time, and tied with the Saab for the shortest braking distance”. “Cosworth: The least body roll complemented the power-provoked oversteer…it is the most exclusive thing you can buy. Every single one of them has its own number stamped onto a brass dash plaque…and no Lancia Beta, or Alfetta, or even Ferrari can offer that.” “The Cosworth is American, and a collector’s item, and it came close, damn close to winning the whole thing.”
Hemmings Classic Car March 2014, “Chevrolet did save the best for last in the form of the sublime Cosworth Vega, a sports car with an exotic double-overhead-cam, 16-valve, four cylinder engine; a suspension to match and sophistication decades ahead of most other cars.”
Hemmings Motor News July 2015, “Two million Vegas were built between 1971 and ’77, and if they’d started out with the power and build quality of this one, the Vega name would have been a legend rather than a punchline.”
Car and Driver January 1986, “Ten Best” issue included the ’76 Cosworth Vega in Ten Best Collectibles. C&D said, One of those noble efforts that giant automakers mount from time to time to break themselves out of the stultifying technological mainstream, this factory hot rod—like most—was a neat idea that didn’t work out.” “What the Vega did have was good basic handling and what the British-designed aluminum head offered was a crossflow design, twin overhead cams, and four valves per cylinder. You can get all that stuff in Toyotas now but until the Cosworth Vega was launched in the Spring of 1975, you pretty much had to buy a Ford for Indy or F1 to call it your own. We’re talking about historical significance here.”
Car and Driver July 1980, “History of 0-60” included the 1974 pre-production Cosworth Vega in its top 25 list with the quickest time of 1974, at 7.7 seconds. C&D said, “And then a remarkable thing happened as raw speed wound down and people started worrying about fuel economy for the first time. A little four-cylinder Vega set the pace in 1974 with help from across the pond in the form of a Cosworth sixteen-valve cylinder head.”
Car and Driver January 1986, “Ten Best” issue included the ’76 Cosworth Vega in Ten Best Collectibles. C&D said, One of those noble efforts that giant automakers mount from time to time to break themselves out of the stultifying technological mainstream, this factory hot rod—like most—was a neat idea that didn’t work out.” “What the Vega did have was good basic handling and what the British-designed aluminum head offered was a crossflow design, twin overhead cams, and four valves per cylinder. You can get all that stuff in Toyotas now but until the Cosworth Vega was launched in the Spring of 1975, you pretty much had to buy a Ford for Indy or F1 to call it your own. We’re talking about historical significance here.”
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