The 980 rear derailleur, Campagnolo part number 6011/00 was launched in 1980 as you could guess from the name. It was a cheap copy of the Nuovo Gran Sport, except that it had a slightly more rigid (read 'better') cage. It had the same dimensions and limitations of the Nuovo Gran Sport. There was no polishing, no finished edges, no special custom made bolts etc... It worked at least as well as the Nuovo Gran Sport, was considerably cheaper (25% cheaper!) and weighed all of one gram more. Both the Super Record and Nuovo Record shifted slightly faster and were more durable and more polished.
It was sold as a combination together with the 980 front derailleur, bolt-on braze-on levers (as opposed to levers that could be tightened by the c-ring), cables and Nuovo Tipo hubs. This grouping of parts was sold as "Gruppo 980 Equipaggiamento". When the cosmetics were modified in about 1984, the official name of the rear derailleur became 990, Campagnolo part number 0102068, so there were not really any variations of the 980. Common practice was however to call part number 0102068 a modified 980.
In my 1986 Italian price list, the Campagnolo rear derailleurs listed are: C-Record at £131,907 (one hundred and thirty one thousand, nine hundred and seven lire) Super Record at £ 110,409 Nuovo Record at £ 77,812 Rally at £ 57,144 Victory (brand new) at £ 45,269 Nuovo Gran Sport at £ 41,164 Triomphe corsa short cage (brand new) at £ 28,028 Triomphe leisure long cage (brand new) at £ 35,148 990 at £ 31,257 Valentino Extra at £ 14,139
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Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ