Produced for nearly three decades from 1966-94, the Alfa Romeo Spider evolved through several iterations but held true to its original core formula: Italian design, driver-focused interior, agile handling, and engaging performance. I recently attended a Hagerty Drivers Club event (more on that in a future story) in Fountain Hills, Arizona, and one of the cars that caught my eye right off the bat was a striking navy blue metallic Spider.
Exterior design for the car was drawn by none other than Pininfarina, an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder that was founded in 1930 by Battista “Pinin” Farina. Alfa Romeo and Pininfarina have partnered with one another for over eight decades.
The car at the HDC event was a “Series 2” example, featuring a flat “Kamm” tail that was new beginning in model year 1970. Features included chrome bumpers with black guards, dual side mirrors, wing windows, antenna, and single-outlet exhaust. The 15-inch multi-spoke polished aluminum wheels were a nice period-correct touch.
The Italian-built roadster was promoted in marketing materials for its value-oriented appeal. One advertisement said, “You might have thought that a machine built like this must cost around $10,000. Now, take another look. Because the price is not $10,000. It’s a sensible $6,450.”
Interior features included tan leather upholstery, embroidered floor mats, push-button radio, wood-rimmed steering wheel, manual-crank windows, and Jaeger-branded gauges.
While originally launched with a 1.6-liter engine, the Series 2 came with a 2.0-liter twin-cam inline-four mated to a five-speed manual transmission. The car wasn’t a speed-demon; it was only rated at about 130 horsepower, but thanks to its power-to-weight ratio, it could accelerate with a certain degree of confidence. The Spider’s competitive advantage was balance/handling as opposed to sheer speed. Standard features include “Spica” fuel injection, four-wheel disc brakes, and race-tuned suspension.
I didn’t get the chance to find out who was driving the Spider, but based on the license plate, it was clearly owned by someone who was both an Alfa enthusiast and a Phoenix Suns fan. I just hope he or she wore plenty of sunscreen for the drive home, because it was already over 100 degrees out by the time the meet-up concluded. Gotta love being an Arizona-based car enthusiast.
