Few cars embody la dolce vita as authentically as the open top Alfa Romeo Spider. These sleek two seaters, famously designed by Pininfarina, stand today as symbols of Italian culture just as much as the country’s world leading cuisine and Milanese fashion. Spotting a Duetto in traffic today makes you want to slip behind the wooden steering wheel yourself. Gliding along the winding roads of the Amalfi Coast with driving gloves on and an elegant companion by your side, complete with oversized sunglasses and a flowing headscarf, remains the ultimate dream, and not just for die hard Alfisti.
This spring marks the sixtieth anniversary of the first Spider’s debut, which prompted Pininfarina to release historical Polaroids, design sketches, and miniature models from the early days of this icon. It was the final work of company founder Battista Pinin Farina, who designed the car in close collaboration with his top designers at the time, Aldo Brovarone and Franco Martinengo. The iconic shape was largely based on the aerodynamic Superflow series of concept studies from the fifties.
Like the Lamborghini Miura, another Italian automotive icon celebrating this major milestone, the Duetto first saw the light of day at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966. Its clean lines, trimmed for optimal aerodynamics and featuring characteristic headlight covers and a rounded tail, immediately captured the hearts of visitors. The two-seater did not just look stunning but also guaranteed driving pleasure thanks to its shared underpinnings with the Giulia, one of the world’s first modern sports saloons. The crisp suspension met direct steering and Alfa’s spirited Twin Cam four-cylinder.
Shortly after its world premiere, Alfa Romeo shipped three examples to New York on a luxury liner. During a glamorous party on the deck of the Raffaello, the newcomer was introduced to the local audience. The Italians saw great commercial potential for the convertible on the US market, because compact sports cars from Europe were all the rage there in the second half of the sixties. And indeed, the first Alfa Spider was a great success on the other side of the Atlantic. This success was definitely helped by the fact that it flickered across the silver screen in a legendary blockbuster just one year after its debut. Dustin Hoffman spent nearly the entire film driving a red example in “the Graduate”. The image boost was so significant that in the eighties, Alfa even named a special edition of the Spider after this Hollywood classic.
Archive materials: Pininfarina Historical Archive, Museo Alfa Romeo.
