It’s incredible to think that the sharp Chevrolet Beretta was the spiritual successor to the Chevrolet Citation. In terms of correcting past mistakes, Chevrolet did us all a solid when they unveiled this slick two-door, which came in a variety of configurations ranging from mild to wild. This clean and low-mileage 1990 Chevrolet Beretta GT is a survivor in every way, as very few of these coupes – even the top-shelf models – managed to survive the slippery, downward slope of becoming a cheap commuter car. Check out this time capsule Beretta here on craigslist for $8,400.
Now, that’s a fair chunk of change for a notoriously cheap car, but we don’t see Berettas in anything resembling this condition. The Beretta was a fron-driver, L-platform model that bore strong resemblance to its corporate sibling, the Corsica, but the edge in sportiness always went to the two-door model. One of the more instantaneously recognizable features of the Beretta was the rear taillight panel, which covered the entirety of the trunk lid and was tinted from the factory. God, I loved the 90s. This car sports old-school California license plates, suggesting it has lived a very quiet life on the West coast.
The GT model was a solid mid-ranger, getting a standard 3.1L V6 and other cosmetic upgrades like the red stripe running around the lower portion of the body and the pretty mesh-style wheels. The range also included models like the GTU, with some real-deal chassis enhancements and an aggressive factory body kit, all the way to the slightly bananas pace car convertible that was never officially released to the public (but a few examples clearly snuck out.) There’s no denying that the Beretta was an economy car underneath, but you have to give Chevrolet credit for actually giving consumers a range of choices and options in an otherwise lower-tier model.
Mileage is quite low, sitting at just 27,000. The GT engine will give the next owner 125 horsepower channeled through a fairly unsophisticated transmission, so don’t expect a rocket ship despite the GT moniker. The price is certainly fair considering how few of these Berettas are left in usable condition, but I suspect it’s a fairly narrow market that will appreciate one this nice. If it’s my money, I’m looking for a GTZ or GTU in similar condition, for which I’ll gladly spend another $2,000 to get into one with those options and a manual transmission. When’s the last time you saw a survivor Beretta? Thanks to Barn Finds reader Mitchell G. for the find.
Cool looking car, but as those on here know, I’m anti FWD.
But I like it’s a V6.
Do I love this? “Sure I do…like I love Fresca. Isn’t that enough?” – Troy McClure.
But do you like Zima?
In the late 80’s and early 90’s, GM was finally starting to build some decent cars. The Beretta and Corsica were in that group, especially if you opted for the 3.1, for I feel that motor ranked right up there with the 3800. For what you’re gonna pay for a newer vehicle with the same mileage, I suppose you could justify the price. It’s never gonna be a high dollar collectable, so the most logical thing to do is drive it as it was intended.
I bought myself a new base Beretta upon college graduation in 1989. With the 5 speed, it was quick enough for the times. I loved that car and kept it 8 years and 150,000 miles. It wasn’t trouble free, but it never had major issues. It’s terrific to see this GT time capsule.
Beretta prototype here locally….
https://youtu.be/opz5aEPP0fs?si=w7lZn4tDNyg-Etzl
My sister bought a new one of these, red with gray interior. It wasn’t the GT but was perfect for a young gal who thought she was “sporty”. It drove well and was trouble free. She didn’t put many miles on it and sold it to the family mechanic at a good price after 10 years or so as a first car for his daughter.
I had the pace car teal and grey 5 speed loved that car…
The last new car my Grandpa bought was an ’89 Corsica. White with the same color blue interior you see here. It had a 2.8 V6 and truth be told, for that time period, it felt very peppy. He was very happy with it, and lasted him untill he passed away over a decade later. One of our relatives in dire need of a car wound up with it and had several trouble free years with it as well. These were well built cars. I always liked the Beretta.
My favorite feature on these is the rocking seat adjustment similar to the early Jeep XJs. That feature lost out to the installation of air bags as it caused submarining from smaller drivers.
An overlooked, clever feature of the Beretta is the front seat mount bracket/rail which is centered so the rear seat passengers have a little more leg room. Nice find to daily drive and take care of.
Had a few of first year Berettas as company cars. A customer got into a fairly hard collision with one and we tried to get insurance to write it off. They refused to consider it and ended up paying more than original MSRP in repairs and loss of use since parts weren’t easy to get and the body shop was learning as it went.
A problem with these (and Corsicas) was that the V6 engine would very easily over power the brakes. The idea of hood prop rods on GMs wasn’t common and we ended up with many bent hoods from people trying to close them with the prop rod (along the outer edge, not in the front) up.
bought a black 1989 Beretta brand new in the fall after I got out of college in May and worked a couple months. It was a nice car with red interior and a sunroof. My now-wife and I loved it, but I did t get a good interest rate or put down enough when I bought it so my payment was higher than I needed (lived and learned). As a result, I traded it to go down to a base model Cavalier right before we got married in May 1991.
I loved the car but she was prettier, really sweet and I wanted her more than the car.
It was easy pickings for street racing against my Chrysler T-2 4 cylinder 5spd. thank you
I bought one new for exwife, looked exactly like this one but had red interior and 4banger. Went thru 2 head gaskets, aluminum head on a iron block , but for a cheaply made car it did well until we sold it to a kid for his first car. I think it lasted 1 more year lol
What a good looking Chevy! Too bad Chevrolet stopped building cars.
This car reminds me that GM actually could build sharp, affordable cars when they wanted to! I was 12 when these hit the road and I loved them back then. The design has held up very well and the color is perfect for this car. The 125hp 3.1L V6 and 3-speed automatic don’t sound like much power, but it was good for 0-60 in about 9.5sec IIRC. The sound it made (a lot like the Pontiac 6000 STE) made it feel a lot quicker. This thing has a lot of life left in it!
Bought a 1989 Beretta GT new when my Z24 was totalled. Red/grey, V6 and a 5 speed. Drove it 161k before the transmission housing cracked and, as kids were joining the family, transitioned to Volvos. I really enjoyed that red Beretta; reliable (except the engine computer) and overall a fun car. Only thing I didn’t like was that the simple rear suspension pitched the car side to side when you hit an offcenter bump. This one is all the money but where will you find another as nice?
Also, wish I had the space as this one’s located like 30 miles from me. Knew I should have bought a house with a four car garage…
The L-body Beretta and Corsica inherited an unfortunate trait from their J-body relatives: a firewall-mounted steering rack. Firewall flex caused jittery handling and led to firewall cracks at the steering rack mount points that were generally considered unrepairable. In extreme cases, the rack could separate from the firewall. That’s part of the reason these cars are scarce on the ground today. Check for water damage in the driver’s footwell.
It seemed like every other 20 something girl, back in the early 90’s had one of these.
Maybe I just got a lemon or something, but the first brand new car I ever got was 1990 Beretta GT with the 3.1 and a 5 speed manual. The car gave me nothing but trouble engine wise. Less than 30,000 miles it started, still under warranty, the dealer said it wiped out the cam, they had it for 3 weeks and when I was told it was ready I picked it up and it happened again on the way home, three more weeks and that time it never made it out of the dealer lot. Finally after 3 times they trashed the engine and put a factory remanufactured one in it. I didn’t wait around for that one to fail, two weeks later I traded the car in on a F150.