'67 Duetto
Introduced at the 36th Geneva Auto Show in a bitter March 1966, Alfa Romeo’s Spider 1600 (the “Duetto” moniker would some months later) was a smash hit, the combination of reliable Giulia-derived mechanicals and pretty Pininfarina body proving to be an irresistible combination.
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'67 Duetto |
The final shape of Alfa’s latest Spider was something the great automotive designer Battista Pininfarina had clearly been thinking about for some time, several of its features including the “scalloped” flanks—traceable to a 1956 Pininfarina show car, the “Superflow 1.” The value of his time and study is now almost inestimable 25 years after his death, Pininfarina’s Spider is as irresistible as ever.
Not that its styling has gone unchanged in its incredible 26-year production life! The 1991 Spider is a significantly different machine with a different soul than its high-revving ancestor—but the family resemblance is unmistakable.
'92 Spider Veloce |
How has the Spider evolved over the last two and a half decades? Consider.
Preamble: 1956
Presented at the ’56 Paris Show was a Pinin Farina version of the 6C 3000CM-based “Superflow I” coupe. The bubble canopy and Bertone BAT-style vertical tail fins never become prominent in Alfa production history, but the wild prototype’s “scalloped” sides live on.
Preamble: 1962
Pininfarina presented another prototype coupe six years after the Superflow I which was an ancestor of the modern Alfa Spider. The coupe, first shown at the ’62 Geneva Auto Show, was based on a Giulietta platform.
1966
A clear winner on the Alfa Romeo stand at the ’66 Geneva Auto Show which opened in March: the Spider 1600—the last design officially and personally credited to Battista Pininfarina, patriarch of the Internationally renowned design house bearing his name. Pininfarina died April 3, 1966, and would not see the production blossoming of his final design. The “Duetto” name which came months later was the winning suggestion (submitted by Guidobaldo Trionfi) in a summer “name the Alfa” contest. The first three US Spiders arrived in New York in May, and a love affair was begun.
1967
The ’67 Spider 1600 Duetto was unchanged from the ’66 model built on Alfa’s new Type 105 chassis. The car featured a Weber-carburetored “Veloce” version of Alfa’s enduring DOHC 1570 cc four rated at 125 hp SAE at 6000 rpm. Alfa records show that 6325 Spider 1600s were produced in ’66-’67. Performance data in Road & rock showed 0-60 time of 11.3 sec, a quarter-mile time of 18.5 sec, a top speed of 113 mph and all this with fuel economy averaging 23 mpg.
1968
In January, at the Brussels Show, Alfa Romeo introduced the Spider 1750. In June, Alfa brought out the affordable Spider 1300 junior. No matter: Americans could only drool and wait, for while the new Spiders complied fully with the tough Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, their carburetored high-performance 1779 cc fours choked on the Clean Air Act of ’68. There were no Alfas imported officially in ’68.
1969
Good news for America! A new number on the trunk lid for the Spider--”1750"--celebrating the larger engine. The bored and stroked 1600 yielded a new displacement of 1779 cc--close enough to 1750 that Alfa decided to invoke the memories of its renowned pre-WWII 1750 machinery. The ’69 US Spider 1750s featured a Spica mechanical fuel injection system, a new Iniezione badge, side marker lights and a new grille bar. Wheel diameter was changed from 15 to 14 inches. The price? $4,333.
1970
In Europe, the 1750 Spiders proved to be quite popular. The horsepower increase from 125 to 132 was minor, but the torque increase from 115 ft-lbs. at 2800 rpm to 137 ft-lbs. at 2900 rpm gave the 1750s a slightly different feel than their 1600 predecessors, though they were still “high revvers.” In America we could only ruminate over this: No ’70 Spiders were imported because of even tougher emission laws.
1971
Another year of noteworthy change: The Pininfarina boat-tail was lopped off and the trunk squared off shortening the car six inches (from 167.3 inches to 161.1 inches.) and reducing trunk capacity from 7.5 cu.ft. to 6.9 cu.ft. In addition the windshield was raked more, the front grille widened and lowered, the bumpers restyled, the door handles flushed in, and the instrument panel changed. More importantly, alterations to the Spica fuel injection system let the car meet US emission standards.
1972
The first Spider 2000 was shown to the press in June 1971 and the first examples arrived in the US in the spring of ’72. A bore increase from 80 mm to 84 mm bumped the 1779 cc four-cylinder engine’s displacement up a notch-and-a-half to 1962 cc. The result? A horsepower increase from 132 hp at 5500 rpm to 150 hp at 5500 rpm and a similar torque increase from 137 ft-lbs. at 2900 rpm to 153 ft-lbs. at 3500 rpm. Though the Spica fuel injection system remained, the cars had a very, very different character. Minor trim changes included a new badge, new bolt-on hubcaps, and a wood-grain steering wheel.
1973
There were few changes to the US Spider for the ’73 model year: license plate lights moved from the bumper to the back panel, the bumpers got “nubs” and alloy wheels were added to the option list. Incredibly, those wonderfully reliable 2-litre engines had started life in the ’50s as 1290 cc fours with “square” cylinders—bore and stroke dimensions were 74 mm and 75 mm respectively. Nearly two decades later, the capacity had been pushed upward over 50 percent to 1962 cc—bore and stroke now 84 mm and 88.5 mm. Amazing.
1974
Alloy wheels were made standard equipment and the ’74 Spiders got handsome wooden steering wheels. No other Changes.
1975
Heavy new black rubber bumpers made ’75 Spider-spotting easy, but not out west: Despite new air pumps and single-outlet exhaust manifolds, the 2-litre engines did not comply with California’s suddenly unique exhaust emission laws. Thus the ’75s were 49-state cars only.
1976
No changes to the Spider line except that the addition of catalytic converters let them return to the California marketplace.
1977
Another change to the exhaust manifold and improved catalytic convertors were the only ’77 Spider news items; otherwise, no changes in the U.S.
1978
No changes for ’78, either. (Did we neglect to mention that catalytic converters were now standard equipment on all Alfa Spider models, not just California cars?)
1979
For ’79, the Spiders got upgraded interiors and leather was introduced as an option. Again, nothing new mechanically.
1980
Lots of emissions-control related add-ons hurt the ’80 models’ performance: A new EGR system and complex variable valve timing system are introduced, and though they also got electronic ignitions, the 2-litres were left gasping. Features-wise, chromed electric mirrors and power windows were offered as standard equipment.
1981
No important changes to the Spiders for the ’81 model year, though the exterior mirrors were body color again.
1982
After 11 years of service, the Spica mechanism fuel injection system, originally designed for a commercial diesel, was replaced in the ’82 Spiders by the new Bosch L-Jetronic system. Of equal importance though much less noticeable, the Spider chassis was stiffened considerably. There were two Spider models offered for the first time: the familiar Veloce and a less expensive base SE model which some in only one color: ivory.
1983
Back to one model—the Veloce, which got a new standard-equipment rubber rear spoiler and front air dam plus restyled bumpers, grille and taillights. The variable valve timing system was now electronically controlled.
1984
No changes to the Spider in the ’84 model year.
1985
No changes to the Veloce but the base model was brought back as the “Graduate.”
1986
Trim changes were minor for 1986: The Veloce got a new rear spoiler with stop light in the middle and all the Spiders got functional new instrument panels. The big news was yet another addition to the model lineup: The upscale “Quadrifoglio,” with 15 inch alloy wheels, big plastic spoilers and side skirts. This model was somewhat controversial: Traditional Alfisti were (and remain) in shock. Happily for Alfa, the marketplace loved it.
1987
No changes in ’87 to either the mechanical details or the Spider model lineup.
1988
No major changes. Graduates got plastic wheel covers.
1989
Only one significant change for ’89: The incorporation of the dreaded passive restraint system. US sales rolled along happily and at the end of a fascinating decade of automotive design, the Spiders’ styling remained remarkably contemporary.
1990
Mechanical changes only for 1990: New Motronic engine controls and a new electric fan. Performance was improved with a change back to the 1974-era Tri-Y exhaust manifold.
1991
A major styling freshen-up highlighted a list of changes for ’91. A rationalized product line now includes just two models: Spider and Spider Veloce. The ’91 models were introduced to America at the Jan ’90 Detroit and LA Auto Shows, and really turned heads: The Spider is still The One.