Alfa's latest sports car is borrowing from the past to create a vision of the future

Most people have a wildly rose-tinted impression of the Alfa Romeo spider. By which we mean California circa 1965, Simon and Garfunkel on a perpetual loop and Anne Bancroft smoking on the other side of the bed. Naked. But the reality is appreciably less attractive than The Graduate has allowed us to believe.

Spider production has rolled on for many decades, the cars gaining weight and cosmetic adornments faster than Dustin Hoffman himself, while the memory of the petite and ageless original has lingered as happily and unshakeably as Mrs Robinson's tan line.

So there's a solid foundation for Alfa's attempts at a new two-seat drop-top. But it doesn't guarantee success. The Nineties witnessed an ambitious but ultimately unpopular attempt to reinvent the model, with bold, angular styling upended by poor ergonomics and shocking quality. So Alfa Romeo knows this latest spider needs to be a sizeable stride on from all that.

Basing it on the Brera coupe we drove last month seems like a reasonable place to start. This means the spider gets the recently bolstered Alfa build quality - as yet unproven, but the signs are good - and the ready availability of the JTS petrol engines. For the moment, this means a 188bhp 2.2-litre four cylinder unit, selling alongside the flagship 260bhp V6.

On top of that, the Brera's platform will also allow for the inclusion of Q4 four-wheel drive on the v6, improving traction and safety. But the chop-top restyling was more of an issue.

The love-it-or-leave it looks of the Brera are down to Giugiaro, but responsibility for the spider has fallen to Pininfarina, who, on top of simply styling the spider, has also been tasked with building both cars side by side.

The design house was keen to evoke the spirit of Dustin's original boat-tailed duetto spider, capturing the elegance and lightness considered synonymous with that model. This intent is best reflected, according to Pinifarina, in the rounded rear treatment, which has gone from resembling a boat to the tailfin of a fish. Apparently.

But you also see it in the car's narrow waistline, juxtaposed here with a strong contemporary element in those aggressively flared wheelarches and multi-spoke alloys. In keeping with the rest of the range though, Alfa's recently revised front end remains. This means the spider still gets the latest triple-lens headlights and shield-shaped grille you see on both Brera and 159.

The interior has been given the Pinifarina treatment too. Much of the design will be familiar to anyone who's had a squint at a 159.

The cockpit-style centre console remains, with its deeply recessed auxiliary instruments angled towards the driver. But there are more subtle, almost subconscious, sporting messages cropping up all around the cabin. There's fairly simple stuff like a ribbed trim that's visible on the armrest and door panels.

Then there's more cunning ideas like the seat backs; these are broken up by contrasting stripes that are intended to emanate the presence of a four-point racing harness. And it sort of works. Then there's the seat squab with its tubular finish the designers liken to cannelloni. We're not sure what the message is there, but it's all very Italian. Pininfarina, are you trying to seduce me?

Matt Master

The Spider or convertible has an important place in Alfa Romeo tradition (starting with the Giulietta Spider in the 1950s and going on to the Duetto and the Spider launched in the 1990s), because it has always embodied the ‘free emotive’ expression of the car. And the new model reiterates the same theme, a natural evolution of the convertibles created by Alfa Romeo in its long history, cars that have always produced strong emotions, guaranteeing extremely entertaining driving and combining superb styling with the performance of powerful, elastic engines. And the new Alfa Spider is no exception: it has the same ‘essentially simple’ character of a true sports car, combined with the technological superiority of the ‘new Alfa breed.

Developed by Pininfarina in conjunction with the Alfa Romeo style centre, the model turns heads for its unmistakable Italian elegance, an absolutely unique and unrepeatable style that promises the satisfaction of a sporty drive with full respect for Brand traditions. While maintaining a front end compatible with the latest generation of Alfa Romeos, the new car is nevertheless the latest stylistic development of the Alfa Romeo convertibles that have written the history of world motoring. Take for example the car’s penetrating lines that invite the eye to run over the entire length of the clean-cut perimeter. The side is made more dynamic by the concave surface that runs across it. Brawny wheelarches express the car's sporty vocation while maintaining its stylistic elegance and lightness. The rear is also made lighter by fins and the round plan view of the boot and bumpers.

Inside, the Alfa Spider offers a welcoming and highly sophisticated environment due to the use of top-quality materials and the adoption of opulent features (standard on some versions). From dual-zone automatic climate control to steering-wheel-mounted radio controls, VDC and Cruise control, a map navigator with bird-view function and the Blue&Me system.

The car is offered in a choice of two outfits, and the customer can also choose between two JTS petrol engines (2.2 delivering 185 bhp and 3.2 V6 Q4 delivering 260 bhp), combined with a sporty, mechanical, 6-speed gearbox. The new car guarantees the temperament of an Alfa and excellent dynamic performance thanks to high double wishbone suspension at the front and a Multilink system at the rear. The Alfa Spider combines superb comfort with a sporty trim and an evolved ‘Alfa Romeo Q4’ four-wheel drive system (on the 260 bhp 3.2 V6 Q4 version). And in the safety field, the new Alfa Romeo is fitted with the most sophisticated electronic devices to control the car’s dynamic behaviour: from braking to traction.

These are the winning features that allowed the new model to run off with the ‘Cabrio of the Year 2006’ prize at its first outing (at the recent Geneva Motor Show). This prestigious title was awarded by a Cabriolet Committee made up of 23 motoring journalists from 12 different countries. With its safety, power and attractive styling, the Alfa Spider marks step forward in the convertible field, a specific segment where Alfa Romeo has always played a leading role. The new vehicle has been designed for quality without compromise. This concept has been pursued throughout all stages of the car’s development process, from product design and including the innumerable tests that the car underwent before production. The Alfa Spider’s quality is also expressed in the choice of opulent interior materials; in the tuning of its Alfa Romeo engines to achieve top-level performance, engine note and driving comfort – and in the optimisation of the sophisticated suspension systems. The term ‘quality’ also describes a world of financial services and products to meet all needs.

The new Alfa Spider, the latest open-topped Alfa Romeo in the company’s outstanding legacy of iconic convertibles, has gone on sale in the UK in February 2007.

Derived from Giorgetto Giugiaro’s multiple award-winning Alfa Brera design, the new Alfa Spider was developed by Pininfarina in collaboration with Alfa Romeo Centro Stile. Winner of the Cabrio of the Year award at the 2006 Geneva Motorshow, the new Alfa Spider combines superlative engineering with outstanding performance and handling characteristics appropriate to the pedigree of one of the world’s most famous sporting marques.

The Alfa Spider is capable of developing a class-leading 1 g of lateral acceleration.

Styling

The 2007 Alfa Spider is shorter and lower than the Brera with which it shares the same wheelbase. Elegantly compacted through sharp front and rear bodywork tapering, the Alfa Spider exterior is rich in styling cues from Alfa Romeo’s peerless tradition of sporting convertibles, from the Giulietta Spider of the 1950s to the legendary Duetto and the Alfa Spider of the 1990s.

Continuing a design trend prevalent in the recent Alfa Romeo model range, the legendary Villa d’Este style Alfa shield with horizontal chrome bars dominates the front. In profile, the new Alfa’s taut, rising waistline flows from the pronounced flare of the front wheel arches to give the Alfa Spider a purposeful stance. At the rear, the Alfa Spider’s broad ‘shoulders’ taper to the focal point of the Alfa Romeo badge, and lean, 4-lamp horizontal light clusters demarcate the shut-line of the luggage compartment lid, which features a residual spoiler. Integral, color coded bumpers and four chromed, flush mounted exhausts further reinforce the new Alfa Spider’s presence.

Spider's Heart

Debuting in the Alfa 159 and also available in the Alfa Brera, the spirited quadruple overhead camshaft, all-aluminum 24-valve V6 powerplant features both the company’s direct petrol injection system and twin phase, continuously variable valve timing.

This outstanding, light aluminum alloy, 3195 cc engine takes its name – Jet Thrust Stoichiometric – from its specific combustion system, an original Alfa Romeo concept that involves the high pressure injection of fuel, at 120 bar, directly into the combustion chamber with a stoichiometric mixture optimized to increase engine power and torque first and foremost – thus adapting this technology to the requirements of a sporting car – whilst adopting the stratified charge method to reduce fuel consumption in a limited speed band close to idling.

The Alfa Romeo 3.2 litre JTS V6 combines power and torque peaks of 260 bhp at 6300 rpm and 237 lb ft at 4500 rpm respectively, with smooth, linear power delivery from low speeds. Some 90% of peak torque is available from just 1800 rpm and maintained up to 6250 rpm. Hence, the 3.2 litre V6 24v unit delivers sensational performance, but is also very docile, and the Alfa Spider can cruise effortlessly in sixth gear at less than 2000 rpm, yet accelerate rapidly and smoothly away without the need for changing gear.

Mated to an F40 6-speed manual transmission and Alfa Romeo’s Q4 permanent four-wheel drive system, the 3.2 litre JTS V6 engine will accelerate the new Alfa Spider from 0-62 mph in 7.0 seconds and on to a top speed of 149 mph.

Roof

The Alfa Spider is fitted with a fully automatic, double-layer fabric roof which may be retracted via a single dashboard mounted control switch in less than 25 seconds. A separate dedicated roof storage compartment ensures that the Alfa Spider’s generous stowage capacity is not compromised. The luggage compartment offers a 200 liter capacity – 36% more than the previous Alfa Spider – even with the roof folded away.

Interior

As with all Alfa Romeos, the interior of the new two-seat Alfa Spider convertible is focused on the driver’s immediate surroundings, which have been designed with an emphasis on ergonomic functionality. A height adjustable driver’s seat allied to a rake and reach adjustable, leather clad steering wheel guarantee a perfect driving position for the widest possible cross-section of customers.

The driver’s instrument binnacle houses large, deeply hooded speedometer and tachometer dials with subsidiary fuel and temperature gauges, strictly analogue in true Alfa tradition and backlit to optimize the driver’s night vision. A multi-lingual, multi-function display gives access to a wide range of functions as well as the trip computer.

Optional equipment includes xenon headlights, satellite navigation, electrically adjustable front seats, a Bose sound system, Blue&Me hands-free mobile phone connectivity and 18” alloy wheels.