In 2008, at the Geneva Motor Show, Alfa Romeo introduced an updated version for the Brera coupe and the Spider version.
Both cars featured the same front fascia with the 159 model range.

Alfa Romeo kept an open-top vehicle in its lineup almost all the time. After the GTV Spider was pulled out of production in 2004, there was a gap that needed to be filled. But there were some years until the new soft-top appeared on the Italian company stable.

From the outside, the three-headlights design of the front was used, along with the big Alfa Romeo shield in the middle. The design was signed by Pininfarina and it featured a long hood and short cabin and trunk lid in the back. The raked windshield helped to improve the drag coefficient.

Inside, there were two seats separated by a massive center console. Some parts of the interior were carried over from the bigger Alfa Romeo 159, along with the steering wheel and the instrument cluster.

The platform was created in a joint-venture with General Motors, after a failed takeover of the Italian group by the American company. The V6 engine was also carried over from the Australian branch of the GM. But the result was far from satisfactory. The car was heavy. With the V6 and all-wheel-drive system, it had a high fuel consumption. The turbodiesel had better fuel-efficiency but it was not the choice for the roadster buyers. The 1.8-liter turbocharged version was too weak and also, had a high fuel consumption.

Starting with 1993, Alfa Romeo offered its first front-wheel-drive Spider to the market, and after five years, it added a mid-life cycle refresh then, another one, in 2003 for the last mile before a complete change.
The Italian brand managed to create beautiful cars over its long history, and the 2003 Spider was one fine example. It tried to live up to its badge and showed respect to its owners, at least from the aesthetic point of view.

When launched in 1993, the Spider was one of the best-looking cars in its segment, and the 2003 refresh just kept that advantage alive. At the front, it had the same round headlights under the hood but with different headlamps. Pininfarina’s designers changed the hood and the front bumper creating a deep Alfa Romeo shield with horizontal slats, in the same spirit of the 147 range. But changes to the exterior stopped there.

For the interior, the biggest change was for the air vents. Unlike its predecessors from the 1993 and even the 1998 model, the 2003 version sported round, flap-style vents on top of the center stack and on the sides. They looked better suited to the overall interior design, even if they were carried over from the Fiat Punto. Alfa Romeo also moved the power-mirrors buttons further back. They were harder to reach, but their spot was needed for a small storage space, which was more useful in a daily driving situation. After all, how many times a driver adjusts the mirrors?

Under the hood, Alfa Romeo kept only one engine from the 1996 model, a 2.0-liter that provided 150 hp. The other two options were new for the car: a 2.0-liter with direct fuel injection and a GM-sourced 3.2-liter V-6. There were no automatic transmissions available.

Alfa Romeo introduced the second generation of the Spider in 1995 after it retired its three-decades-old predecessor.
Few cars in the world attracted so much hype as the Alfa Romeo Spider, but that attraction was primarily for the 1966 model produced until 1994, not for its successor. Even though it was a much better car by any means, it couldn’t get the same emotion as its predecessor. The Italian carmaker built the 1995 model on Type Two (Tipo Due) platform shared with Fiat Tipo and Lancia Delta. Alfa Romeo also used it for the Spider’s coupe sibling, the GTV.

While Bertone made the 1966 model, Pininfarina designed its 1995 successor. The narrow front end and four individual headlamps made the car unique on the market. Between them, on the hood, the carmaker installed the Alfa-shield specific feature between the broad and narrow grilles installed in the upper side of the bumper. Alfa Romeo offered an option for a set of fog lights above the apron on the lower side. From its side, a clear-cut ascending line linked the front wheel-arches with the back of the cabin, while the short trunk continued in a sloped-down line.

Inside, the carmaker installed two bolstered bucket seats with cloth upholstery for the base version or a leather-clad interior for the full-spec variants. Its dashboard featured a binocular-style cluster with individual clusters for the tachometer and speedometer.

Under the hood, Alfa Romeo introduced the Spider with a 16-valves, two-liter engine. Later on, in 2001, the carmaker added a 3.0-liter V-6 powerplant, which sported a polished intake manifold that looked glorious.

After almost a quarter of a century, Alfa Romeo prepared a final update for its classic roadster, the Spider.
The Spider was one of the most iconic cars built by the Italian carmaker after WWII. Even if Alfa Romeo didn’t sell it in huge numbers, it remained a classic car that combined the driving pleasure with a touch of luxury. In 1990, the carmaker introduced a few upgrades.

On the outside, the car was almost the same as the original 1966 model but sported new bumpers both front and rear. Its round headlights with chromed rings around them remained in position. At the back, the long-tail design and the new, wrapped-around bumper looked natural for a 1990 vehicle. Alfa Romeo also changed the taillights, trying to have a modern look.

Inside, the Italian carmaker offered the Spider in two trim levels. While the base version featured cloth seats and nothing more, the Veloce top-trim level sported leather seats, air-conditioning, and a stereo-cassette player. Its in-dash mounted gear stick was a tribute paid to the old ’60s platform used by Alfa Romeo. Unlike most of its competitors who lacked in that area, the trunk was big enough for a long journey, unlike most of its competitors. Its two-seat interior was good for the ’60s, but in the ’90s, it was already too small, with a windshield too narrow.

Under the hood, Alfa Romeo managed to install a 2.0-liter engine fed by a fuel injection system. That improvement raised the power and lowered the fuel consumption for the little roadster. It was paired as standard with a five-speed manual gearbox, while the carmaker offered a three-speed automatic as an option.

Alfa Romeo introduced the third series of its original 1966 Spider in 1983 and improved it over its predecessor in every way, without losing its sex appeal.
At the beginning of the ’80s, the new safety regulations were stricter, and the carmakers had to adapt their models. Some just added fatter bumpers, which made the designers annoyed, while others tried to integrate the mandatory features into the original shape. Alfa Romeo took the second path, even though it was a harder road.

For the 1983 model, the light and nimble Spider kept the original design as a two-seat roadster with only the windshield poking up the sky above the beltline. At the front, the car featured a new hard rubber bumper with integrated turn signals and parking lights underneath it. The round headlights stayed in their place with a similar design and chromed rings around them. An apron was slightly extended behind the bumper. Alfa Romeo offered a removable hardtop with a glass windscreen in the back for colder days.

The two-seat cockpit was heavily revised. The dashboard was modern and featured a radio-cassette player mounted on the center stack, just above the angled gear stick and under three-round vents. An instrument panel with more dials arranged into a semi-circular layout showed a better view for the driver. Even the seats were enhanced with bucket seats but no bolstering.

Under the hood, Alfa Romeo installed a 2.0-liter twin-cam engine. In Europe, the carmaker offered it with three carb-choices: Solex, Weber, or Delorto. The Italian carmaker chose to play safe with the emission tests and installed a Bosch mechanical fuel-injected system for U.S. customers.

The Alfa Romeo Spider became famous in the U.S. after it was driven by Dustin Hoffman in the 1967 box-office hit movie “The Graduate”. The second generation came in 1970 and it was even better.

While the first generation was not fast enough for American tastes, the second generation was improved in every way. A sleeker bodywork, better engines, and more features made the car a darling for everyone. Last, but not least, it was way more fuel-efficient than American cars.

Its low beltline, with a flat hood and two round headlights at the front, the Spider had an unmistakable stance. The little nimble Italian roadster featured a small cabin fit for two passengers and a flat trunk lid, slightly sloped.

The car was launched as a two-seater, but in 1975 it received another pair of seats in the back. It was the most commonly used luggage compartment for the driver. But the Italians didn’t cut any corners and it offered the same attention to details, with hand-crafted leather upholstery and manual stitches.

The first models in 1970 were fitted with a 1.8-liter unit and, in 1971, the 2.0-liter version with a fuel injection system was launched. It was the 2000 Spider Veloce version. The engine was mated to a 5-speed manual only.