Hi, i just wanted to give a quick overview of one of my favorite classic cars. There is this local store near my hometown of Bloomfield, NY,called Turner Automotive. They specialize in Chevrolet Corvettes. Occasionally, however, they trade for another car. For example, they currently have a Rat rod, a Chevrolet BelAir, A Dodge Charger SuperBee and even a Bricklin SV. A week ago, i noticed a 1970's Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce was outside apparently on display. I was exited because i had never seen one before. If you have no idea what car i am talking about read on....
So, the Alfa Romeo Spider started life in 1966 (when my mom was born :) It was in production for almost 30 years. (ended production in 1994 as Commemorative Editions for North America) There were only minor exterior and mechanical changes throughout its tri-decade life. The First Generation was assembled by Pinninfarina in Grugliasco an the Fourth Gen in San Giorgio Canavese. The final Alfa Spider was produced in April, 1993. This was also the last RWD Alfa before the 8C Competizone.
Series 1 (1966-1969)
The car was introduced as a prototype at the Turin Motor Show in 1961. But because of the economic challenges that Italy faced at this time restricted production by Pininfarina at the end of 1965. Alfa Romeo utilized the Giula 105 chassis. The car was unveiled at the 36th Geneva Motor Show in 1966. The car was unamed at the Show. The name Duetto was eventually chosen. Pininfarina was responsible for the body design. The Duetto was the last project the founder, Battista Farina was associated with. The design dirctor for Pininfarina at this time was Franco Martinego. Pininfarina was also responsible for production. The car was designed with Crumple Zones in te front and rear. The engine chosen was a 1570 cc version of the Alfa twin cam four Cyl. and spat out 109 HP. It included a 5 Sp. Manual tranny, disc brakes, and the US price was $3,950. May seem small, but that was still $1,500 more expensive than the British MGB.
The First Duetto was produced 1966-'67 and was replaced in 1967 by the 1750 Spider Veloce, equipped with a 118 HP, 1779 cc engine. The European models had twin carburetors, When the American version had mechanical fuel injection. Differences for this model included Suspension, brakes electric and wheel modifications. Other differences were the rear-view mirror was repositioned to the door and there was differnt badging on the rear.
In 1968, the Spider 1300 Junior was released with an 89 HP engine.
Because of its round tail, the Series 1 is sometimes referred to as Osso di Seppa, meaning cuttlefish bone in Italian. This car was in the 1967 film, The Graduate, driven by the Dustin Hoffman portrayed Ben.
Series 2 (1970-1983)
In 1970 the first real exterior change was added to the 1750 Spider Veloce,with the original round tail changed to a cut-off tail commonly called the Kamm tail. Alfa also improved trunk room. In 1971, the Spider got a new 1962 cc, 132 HP engine, and the name was changed to the 2000 Spider Veloce. In 1972, the 1600 Spider restarted as the Spider 1600 Junior and was identical to the 1300.
In 1972, the rare Spider-Targa was introduced. Based on the Spider, it had a Porsche like solid rear window and T-tops. Less than 2000 of these models were made and was the only hard top Spider until the factory one.
In 1974-'75 the 1300 and the 2000 were modified to have 2 small seats behind the front ones to become a "2+2". The 1300 was discontinued in 1977. In between 1974 and 1976 the early stainless steel bumper was replaced with a black rubber one to meet North Amercan requirements.
Series 3 (1983-1990)
The series 3 was previewed in North America in 1982 when they introduced the 2.0 Lm Bosch electric fuel injection to replace mechanical fuel injection. The Spider went through a revamp in 1983 which introduced rubber bumpers. Also, a small rubber spoiler was added to the rear. The 1600 lost the Junior name as well. The Green Leaf Clover model was introduced in 1986 with many tweaks which included side skirts, mirrors, front and rear spoilers, 15" alloy and optional removable hardtop. Different interior trim included Blood red carpets and gray leather upholstery. It was mechanically twins with the Spider Veloce.
The interior had new things to it including a new center console, lower dash panels, and a single monopod gauge cluster. A North American edition named The Graduate was added to pay a tribute to the Veloce's apperence in the film, The Graduate.
The Graduate was made as a cheaper entry level Alfa. It had the same engine and transmission as the Veloce, but it did not have alloy wheels and the luxurys of the other models. It had manual windows, vinyl seats, a vinyl top and steel wheels. The only optios were air conditioning and a radio. The Graduate appeared in 1985 and ended in 1990.
Minor things were changed in 1986-'89 which included new paint colors, a center mount stop lamp and new turn signal levers. 1988 models had automatic seatbelts the extended from a device in between the fron seats.
Series 4 (1991-1993)
The final big change to the Spider was in 1990. The Spider was given a Bosch Motronic electronic fuel injection and an electronic fan. The Spider also dumped its under-bumper spoiler and the trunk lid spoiler. This was also the first Spider with an automatic.
These syling changesd did not appear in North America until 1991. The production of the Spider ended in 1993. Then,an all new Spider arrived in 1994. A Limited Commemerative Edition was made for North America and was a 1994 model. 190 of these were imported to the US. Each had a plaque saying what number of 190 it was. It had a special badhe on the nose and a CE below Spider Veloce on the rear. They had gold caps on the wheels and wood interior trim. Every model came with a leather portfolio, numbered keychain and documentation. The CE's had VINs 008276-008460. They are not in order numbering. All 1994 Commemerative Editions were produced in May 1993. In Europe, the CE was sold with a 1.6 L engine that was utilized in the Series 3.
