Alfa Romeo Spider
The Alfa Romeo Spider also known as the 105 series Spider/ “Classic” Spider first made it rounds in the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, and was still unnamed; then through the means of a competition in Italy, the name “Duetto” was chosen for the car. Production of the car ran straight up until 1993, where the original legacy came to an end.
The car was originally designed by Pininfarina, who also had a hand in the manufacturing of the car&rsq
uo;s monocoque construction, which is the combination of “crumple zones” at both the front and the back. It was designed with the classic body style of the 2-seater roadster. The designers have always played with its looks every couple of years, and this has resulted in many nips and tweaks since then, finally resulting in a revamp of the model with a 916 series Alfa Romeo Spider.
The Spider’s dimensional specs consist of a wheelbase of 2250mm (88.6in) Duetto; a length of 4255mm (167.5in) Duetto; a width of 1626mm (64in) Duetto; a height of 1295mm (51in) Duetto; and a curb weight of 996 kgs (21906 lbs) Duetto. The engine came in choices of the 1.3, 1.6, 1.8 or a 2.0 litre I4 or an alternating version of a 1570cc Twin-cam four cylinder engine, which produced 109hp (81kW). The vehicle also came fitted with five-speed transmission, independent front suspension, and disc brakes.
The first Duetto ran from 1966-1967, which was then replaced with the 1750 Spider Veloce in the latter part of 1967. A new Spider took shape in 1968, in the form of 1300 Junior with a 1290cc engine outputting 89hp (66kW), but it lacked a lot of the original features of 1750 e.g. hubcaps, plastic headlight fairings, opening quarterlight, and the brake servo. The first series of the Spider became known by its nickname of “Ossa di Sepia” or “Cuttlebone fish”.
The series 2 Spider ran from 1970-1983, with the first year bringing exterior change in the 1750 Veloce, with the traditional elongated round tail being transformed into a general cut-off tail know as the “Kamm Tail”. Also they changed into a new door handles, top hinged pedals, a more raked windscreen, a slightly different grille, refined interior trim, and more luggage space. In 1971, the Spider Veloce acquired a new and larger engine; a 1962cc, 132hp (98kW), also changing its name from 1750 to the 2000 Spider Veloce. The 1300 and the 2000 were modified in 1974 and 1975 respectively by making them from a 2-seater to a 4-seater, then the 1300 model was dropped in 1977.
From 1983-1990 was the period of series 3 Spider was first shown of in the States in 1982 inaugurating the new “2.0 litre Bosch fuel injection”, which replaced the “SPICA mechanical injection”. The Spider underwent another huge change in 1983, which was the introduction of black rubber bumpers, which was not omnipresent throughout its fan-base, and its critics. Also the “Green Four-leaf Clover” (Quadrifoglio Verde) model was presented in 1986, with many artistic nips and tucks; side skirts, new back and front spoilers, mirrors, hard rubber trunk spoilers, optional removable hardtop, and essential third stoplight. But programmed in the exact same way to the regular 2000 Spider Veloce model. The Graduate model was introduced in 1967, for the film “The Graduate” which was a less expensive model with lower dash panels, new center console, manual windows, a vinyl top, steel wheels, and vinyl seats. The model was continued up until 1990.
The series 4 Spider ran from 1990-1993, it was meet with its first major mechanical change with the Bosch Motronic electronic fuel injection with an electric fan. Other aesthetic changes followed e.g. losing its rear trunk & front bumper spoiler, but with addition of 164 style rear lights. Complete production of the original Alfa Romeo Spider came to an end in 1993.