The Alfa Spider And Fiat"S Takeover - Alfa Romeo 1966 to 1994 Spider Faq

transmission was added as an option for the very first time in 1992. This undoubtedly decreased
performance even more, but to what extent I have not been advised. The interiors reached their
highest level of luxury, especially in the Quadrifoglio, which did just about everything except
brush your teeth. The seats were redesigned again, but there were no other major revisions to the
layout of interior.
Because of these revisions, the Series 4 cars are, in the opinion of the author, the prettiest cars
since the end of Series 2. Production continued until the middle of 1993 (although, because of
slow sales, there may in fact be "1994„ Alfa Spiders out there somewhere), when FIAT shut the
entire line down and began tooling up for a totally new Alfa Romeo Spider.
However, these developments were not happening in a vacuum. In 1990 Mazda unveiled the
Miata, a brilliantly designed sports car that evoked memories of all the brisk, fun-to-drive sports
cars of the mid ... 60s. In fact, it is said that the team that designed the Miata (which ironically
included a former Alfa Romeo service rep) did extensive research with the 101 and 105 Spiders,
mainly, it seems, to get that exhaust note down.
But the Miata did without the (sometimes perceived, sometimes very real) quality and reliability
problems of those earlier, "classic„ sports cars. While its performance was nothing to write home
about, it positively oozed charm and was zippy enough to at least feel fast. And, most
importantly, it was relatively cheap, with an introductory sticker of, I believe, $13,800 US in
1990. (special thanks to BD for advice on the relationship of the Spider and the Miata)
Perhaps the deepest irony of all, though, was that the Miata very closely resembled (in exterior
appearance) the Spider"s first primary competitor the Lotus Elan!
The Miata immediately created a sensation and sold by the thousands. To this day I don't think
anyone pays sticker for the things, with premium dealer mark-ups of over 20% being quite
common at the marque's introduction. The introduction of the Miata spelled the virtual end of
sales for the 115 Spider. Because of this, and the inability of the Alfa 164 to compete in the
crowded mid-$30,000 sports sedan market, FIAT made the surprising move of totally pulling
Alfa out of the US market at the end of 1994.
The Alfa Spider and FIAT s Takeover
Was the Miata a car that Alfa should have, or indeed even could have, produced? Probably not.
In the ... 60s, when at least a dozen "classic" sports car makes and models were available, Alfa was
more expensive than most. If the company even wanted to produce a sub-$20,000 Spider, its
financial straits prevented anything but incremental updates to its already existing car. By the
time the new Spider was ready, Mazda owned the niche. Even if all the variables had been in
place at the right time, Alfa's nearly stupefying lack of marketing ability almost certainly would
have torpedoed anything introduced.
Most of these developments seem to have been chronicled by, and, at least in the English-
speaking world, seen through the eyes of American writers (this author included). Therefore most
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