Alfa Romeo Spider
Tom Stewart finds out if Alfa's handsome new Spider is worth all the fuss
Alfa Romeo Spider
New cars have to work hard to get noticed, and none more so than two-seater roadsters, the net result being that despite their ever increasing popularity, some currently on sale look like tarted-up fashion victims. But such criticism can’t be levelled at Alfa Romeo’s new Spider, which, in common with other objects of true beauty, makes a big visual impact seemingly without even trying.
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Although Alfa Romeo’s new Brera coupe has been described as a ‘concept car come true’, its avant-garde silhouette and vaguely van-like proportions are apparently a little challenging to some, at least to those with a more conservative view of how a coupe should look. However, the Spider – essentially a Brera convertible – is from a styling perspective likely to please even the most critical observer.
No gimmicks here
Now you’ll have to trust me on this, but roof either up or down, the Spider looks even better in the metal than it does in photos. So, praise to both Pininfarina and Alfa’s in house styling team as its desirable, clean cut appearance has been achieved without resort to trendy, short term gimmickry, excessive reliance on retro pastiche or indeed any tacky over-styling.
Though yet to be officially confirmed, the Spider is due to go on sale in the UK in Feb 2007 at a price of approximately £1,200 over that of the equivalent Brera, -- that'll be from around £24,000 to £28,700. Like the Brera, the chassis is derived from the 159 saloon’s and it will be offered in two specification levels (confusingly named Spider and Exclusive) with the same pair of petrol engines as the Brera:
- A transversely-mounted 2.2-litre, 4cyl JTS petrol unit with 185bhp and 170lb-ft of torque running through a six-speed manual to the front wheels.
- A 3.2-litre V6 mated to a six-speed manual delivering power to all four wheels and which pumps out a wholesome 260bhp and 237lb-ft.
There are no plans to equip the Spider with the Brera’s 2.4 litre 200bhp/295lb=ft JTD diesel motor, though with diesels on the up in endurance racing, maybe perceptions of what constitutes sporty and what doesn’t may in time change.
As with two previous Alfa Spiders – the most recent dating from the mid 90s and before that the iconic Duetto series, (remember Dustin Hoffman’s car in The Graduate?), the new model makes no pretence at being a 2+2 cabrio, at least not in terms of accommodation. Behind the seats is a pair of lockable stowage bins and space for some light luggage (or even quite heavy luggage with the seats well forward).
It bucks the current trend for complex, fold-away tin tops: at the touch of a button (no levers or catches) the Spider’s five-layer cloth roof collapses a leisurely pace into a separate storage area between cockpit and reasonably-sized, 235-litre boot.
The cabin itself is well equipped (a driver’s-side knee airbag will come as standard equipment) and well finished (especially in the leather of the Exclusive version) and, ‘though not quite as impressive as the exterior, the dash and interior are easy on the eye and appear well built; nothing squeaked, rattled or came loose on the any of three Spiders I drove on the launch.
Small point; for northern European males who prefer not to carry a handbag, a little more stowage for phones/PDAs, iPods, keys, sunglasses, fruit gums etc. would be appreciated.
Burble
With driving position electronically adjusted to suit -- gone is the awkward, long-legged, short-armed Alfa posture of yesteryear, unless you so choose -- the 2.2 fires on the button and settles into a mellow but barely discernable burble. Clutch action is very light and takes a little getting used to when moving away from stationary, but the six-speed gearchange is very sweet. Steering is also light, and quite direct, and so requires little effort or movement at the wheel to initiate substantial directional changes.
An exuberant or ham-fisted cornering style will provoke squealing understeer, especially on the polished and dusty roads of this Sicilian press launch location, but with the electronic traction systems engaged it’s no big deal. Fortunately that dreaded downside of torsionally less rigid convertibles, scuttle shake, is barely noticeable except when driving on particularly rutted roads, and even then it remains acceptable.
Fruity but not punchy
The four-pot JTS motor is smooth, flexible and, though over-silenced, sounds pleasantly fruity. It’s not too thirsty either, returning a reasonable 30.1mpg (combined). All well and good then, except that even when driven hard the smaller-engined Spider doesn’t feel quick. Of course, 185bhp, 0-62mph in 8.8 seconds and a 135mph top speed is no better than OK -- but a sports car should pack a proper punch so you’ll prefer the bigger V6 version.
This motor features a block designed and manufactured by GM's Holden subsidiary, with a purely Alfa Romeo DOHC top end. With quoted performance figures of 0-62mph in 7.0secs and a max of 146mph, the 3.2 V6 is certainly no slouch, but on the road it doesn’t feel desperately quick either. Due to its broad spread of power, tall gearing and near 1.7-tonne weight, the V6 Spider doesn’t drive like a point and squirt sports car. Naturally, it sips a little more fuel (24.6mpg combined), but it’s even smoother than the 2.2, more flexible, substantially more powerful and, although also a little too muted, it sounds sweeter still.
That said, if Alfa engineers aren’t already developing a mischievous exhaust valve by-pass system of the kind long ago adopted by Aston and Ferrari, and which lets them to drive quietly past noise meters while allowing them full voice at other engine speeds, then they should be.
Despite those 260 horses and all-wheel-drive, (the Q4 system normally provides a 43/57 front-rear split but this can stretch from 22/78 to 72/28 depending on what’s being asked of it), the 3.2 V6 really doesn’t encourage frisky, spirited driving. Rather than neck-snapping acceleration the big Spider instead delivers the sort of forceful gathering of momentum also provided by big, long-legged sports saloons or GTs. Consequently the V6 Spider would feel more at home on a long stretch of open autostrada than a sinuous Sicilian B-road. That said, maintaining a straight course at high speed on a less than perfect surface requires a tad more driver input than it would, say, in a big Merc.
Good looks but...
Alfa claims that the Spider can complete a recently standardised lane change test at 135km/h compared with the class benchmark Porsche Boxster’s 130km/h, and achieve 1g lateral acceleration in corners. Additionally, I was told by Alfa brand manager Antonio Baravalle that a front-drive 159 (on which the Brera and Spider are based) can outpace a similarly powerful, rear-drive BMW 3 Series on the Nordschleife, so we’re not talking duffer here.
But in the real world the Spider is a great looking Italian roadster but which feels more like a good four-seater cabrio to drive. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, unless of course you expect a sports car to feel genuinely sporty, in which case you'll need to look elsewhere.
I can't remember a decent looking Alfa in the last 30 years.
dementia's a terrible thing...The only disappointment by the sounds of things is the engine. Alfas of old sounded amazing. If i remember right the old GTV from 20+ years ago got voted one of the best sounding cars ever.
If Alfa could put some character and sparkle into the engines and Exhaust note they would be fan bleedin tastic..!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBkpc60tQ_M
There's a bit of engine noise about 1 minute into the clip, and it doesn't sound all that bad to me, although you probably can't tell given the audio quality. Maybe doesn't sound as good as the old V6, but you can possibly excuse that given that it meets all the emissions regs.
And I know it doesn't really matter, but I'm not sure what the excuse is for replacing an engine as good-looking as the old V6 with one as plain as this.
And I know it doesn't really matter, but I'm not sure what the excuse is for replacing an engine as good-looking as the old V6 with one as plain as this.
Indeed.
Couldn't get it to pass current/future emissions regs I think. They got it to Euro-III, but I think -IV and -V were a step too far.
The only disappointment by the sounds of things is the engine. Alfas of old sounded amazing. If i remember right the old GTV from 20+ years ago got voted one of the best sounding cars ever.
If Alfa could put some character and sparkle into the engines and Exhaust note they would be fan bleedin tastic..!
Have you actually heard a V6 Brera?
I'd just been looking at the new TT and that was in a different class.
The Quattro systems may make it safer but the weight really blunts the performance and cripples the fuel, 24 mpg in an ideal world only IMO. It's the same engine as my GT and that gives me 24mpg when driven like a saint, and that's a lot lighter and slightly detuned compared to the Spider/Brera.
I was seeing this as the next Alfa for me but it's just not exciting enough.
But this is looks just like an SZ which came out in the late 80's. Was completly mad car and only a handfull ever made.
Having no roof means it's more like the RZ than the SZ, although the RZ is far, far, better looking than the new Spider. 
Have a look at my gratuitous pictures
Alfa disapeared when they were bought by Fiat. Although rusty (!understatement!) and prone to bits falling off, Alfa always used to be real drivers cars above all else. Detuned racing cars, rather than hotted up saloons. Known for the best handling of all, in years gone by I found myself a number of times in situations where in any other car I'd be dead.
Although the odd BMW was quicker in a straight line, Alfa ALWAYS used to out perform on the track. They JUST got their build quality right with the (appalling looking) 75 when Fiat bought them and cancelled the 75 on the spot as too expensive. Apparently it was costing them twice as much to build as they were selling it to the dealers for. (now there's a stunning car available for peanuts.....though most of them have found their way to being regular Nurburgring cars these days)
Fiat bought a chassis from SAAB, put Alfa's engines in, gave it to Alfa's world renowned engineers/test drivers to set up as well as they could, and called it the 164. Since then, they've done very well by building pretty cars for posers, but driven hard they just don't hack it.
I too would love to see a rear wheel drive Alfa, but I suspect it would be crap, too. Any decent engineer who likes to set up a chassis for brilliant handling will have left by now, methinks.
I've owned 22 Alfas over the years, but have no interest in them any more. Bumped into someone the other day with a 1973 2.o GTV..... Now THERE'S a car!
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