It’s no secret that we here at TTS love us some station wagons. Between us we currently have three of ’em – 2 Mercedes and a Subaru – and looking back we’ve had wagons from Audi, BMW, Datsun, Honda, Volvo, Volkswagen, and Saab. And that doesn’t include the Pontiacs and Chevrolets we grew up with. Heck – there was a time when all (read: both) of the men in my family drove station wagons: me in my 1984 VW Quantum and my dad in his 1989 Pontiac 6000S/E. Practical and fun to drive? You betcha. Cool? Not so much back then, but these days wagons have experienced something of a renaissance and seem to mark their owners as proper car enthusiasts, forsaking the lure of the omnipresent SUV.

In addition to wagons, we like strange and unusual cars. I think a lot of us like to be the folks that show up at a local Cars and Coffee or the like in a car that people don’t automatically recognize right off the bat. Many cars fitting that bill can, naturally, be found in markets outside the United States. We TTSers seem to spend an inordinate amount of time perusing the cars that we never got here in the States when they were new on sites like AutoScout and Mobile.de, and finding the cars that we think would be a hoot to have – even if just for a little while. The nice thing is that these sites make it very easy to plug in a range of parameters including an age of 25 years or more, in order to ensure that whatever we may find would be eligible for importation under the Federal 25 year rule.

And it was one of those searches that led me to this sweetheart of a wagon. Here in the States we don’t really tend to link station wagons with Alfa Romeo – the storied Italian marque famous for racing, rusting, and the affinity of our favorite Top Gear/Grand Tour presenters. In Europe, however, Alfa is sort of the Italian version of BMW: making fun, sporty, upscale cars to suit every need from rthe weekly grocery run to rounding the Nardo circuit. Often, my search criteria includes 1) wagon; 2) stick shift; 3) air conditioning; 4) sunroof, and 5) less than 160K kilometers. When I hit this search today there were very few results, but this one stood out.

When I was a teenager back in the 80s, I remember my dad bringing home one of the car magazines that he would pick up for me when he was in Europe that featured the Alfa 33 wagon. Even back then I liked it, despite front wheel drive and a relatively gutless (but reportedly very revvy) 4-cylinder boxer engine. That was probably about 1986. The car pictured here was the last update of this generation of 33, and as such came with a 16 valve 1.7 boxer that was good for 0-60 in about 8 seconds and a top speed approaching 130mph from its 130hp/119 lb-ft of torque. Not a rocketship by today’s standards, but certainly no slouch. The alcantara-trimmed sport seats, leather sport steering wheel, and 5-speed manual transmission further add to what is doubtless a sporting experience!

My TTS compadre once commented on a BringaTrailer article about a 33 wagon (an earlier, FWD model) calling it “the least reliable Subaru Impreza wagon.. in the WORLD”, but going on to admit that he still wanted one. The Alfa boxer may not be Subaru reliable, but it is a known quantity throughout Europe and the internet. The fact that this one has been thoroughly reconditioned will certainly also put a potential buyer to some ease. Of course, that does help rationalize the slightly steep-but-find-another asking price of €22,500 (about $24,300). In fact, according to the seller the whole car has been gone through and made like new, in addition to a mountain of service receipts from its 120,000 kilometers (about 74,500 miles).

Of course, you have to add the costs of shipping, import duties, and other ancillary expenses to the final cost. Figure somewhere between $4-$6,000, depending on how far the car is from the port in Europe and how far you are from the port in the U.S. But for whatever the final expense would be you’d have a fun, unusual car in remarkably good condition with the key modern baubles we have come to appreciate and even expect: air conditioning, power windows, sunroof, and so on. You’d most certainly have the only one at the next Alfa Club meeting or Cars and Coffee, and you could look down at the imported BMW E30 wagon guys for have too *common* a wagon!

So, room for a family of four when you need it, 4wd traction, a punchy boxer engine that makes a very Alfa sound, a manual transmission, and the right creature comforts? Sign me up.

See more details on the seller’s website HERE. And if you get a chance, watch the dealer’s video. This guy may be speaking Italian, but he’s awesome. His enthusiasm is downright contagious.