The shape introduced at Turin’s 1966 Motor Show survived 28 turbulent years with just one significant restyle.
Appropriately for a twin-cam, two-seat car it was called ‘Duetto’, and the man who won the competition to choose its name was rewarded with one of the first-built examples.
Early Duettos shared their 1.6-litre engine with the GTV coupe; 81kW propelling 998kg for a top speed of 178km/h. With a five-speed gearbox and all-wheel disc brakes, the open-top Alfa was more sophisticated in its day than TR Triumphs or the disc-front drum-rear Datsun 240Z.
For 1969 the engine was enlarged to 1779cc and power reached 100kW. The Duetto name was dropped in favour of ‘1750 Spider Veloce’ which, while not precisely reflecting the car’s engine size, paid tribute to Alfa’s famous 1750 Super Sport from the early 1930s.
A restyle that lopped the original car’s curved tail in to a flat but more aero-friendly slab came in 1969, then during 1971 a larger 1962cc engine arrived.
In this form, the Spider enjoyed strong world-wide sales, with production during the 1970s averaging 4500 units annually and reaching a peak of 5584 during 1980. A 1.3-litre Spider Junior was available from 1969-72 but most were sold in Europe.
Australian Spider sales ended in 1976, ahead of requirements to comply with new emission control measures. The North American market was too important to countenance an Alfa retreat, so cars sold there were equipped with heavier ‘Federal’ bumpers and fuel-injected engines that met emission targets but cut power by six per cent.
Post-1977 cars in our market have mostly arrived via the USA and been locally converted to RHD. Performance is muted when compared to earlier versions and these cars usually cost considerably less than local versions.
The year 1983 brought the ironically designated ‘Aerodynamica’. With bigger and more cumbersome rubber bumpers, these weighed 1160kg and despite having a more efficient Bosch fuel injection system, power stayed at 93kW.
In 1991 the final Duetto arrived in the form of restyled Series 4 cars with new wheels and larger tail-lights that they shared with the 164 sedan, plus body-coloured bumpers. These were the first Spiders with power steering and proved to be the most successful of all, with 14,669 cars built from 1991-94. However, they are rarely seen in Australia.
Finding a round-tail car will be difficult and values for the very best ones now exceed $80,000. The 2.0-litre cars sold new in Australia from 1971-76 remain easy to find and cost $35-60,000.
Virtually all Spiders will have undergone some restoration, hopefully followed by regular maintenance. Cars without receipts for recent mechanical work are a risk.
