Development And History; Introduction And Initial Development - Alfa Romeo 1966 to 1994 Spider Faq

Development and History

Introduction and Initial Development

Its been said in other places that the Alfa Spider is a modern Morgan (for those of you who don't
know what a Morgan is, it's an English sports car that is in production to this day whose origins
go back more or less unchanged into the 1930s). This is only somewhat true. The fact that it
soldiered on so little changed for so long a period meant that, at the end, it really did seem like an
automotive fossil. However, when the 105/115 Spiders first appeared they were quite advanced
for their time.
With a pedigree that goes back to before the designers of the Corvette or Mustang were even
born, and a reputation for design innovation and sophistication, Alfa Romeo Spiders should be
seen less as expensive Miatas and more as cheap Ferraris (the relationship is more than skin
deep... Ferrari got his start at Alfa).
To avoid confusion I am going to make some very blunt and unsubtle generalizations of the
various types of 105/115 Spiders. These are roughly based on what can be found in the British
book "Alfa Romeo Spider„, by David Sparrow (Osprey books).
NOTE: Throughout this document I will be referring to these cars as, variously, 105, 105/115,
and 115 Spiders. This is the model numbering system Alfa Romeo used on their cars, and assists
people telling the various Spiders apart (Alfa has produced a number of different Spiders, with
model numbers like 750 and 101 as well as 105 and 115). This number can be found under the
hood of the car, on a plate riveted to the top center of the firewall.
Also, you may wonder what "Alfisti„ means. An "Alfisti„ is a person who is thoroughly smitten
with Alfa Romeo automobiles, who dedicates a large amount of their spare time and a good
percentage of their income to maintaining, acquiring, and driving Alfa Romeos of all sorts.
Alfisti are to Alfa Romeo what Trekkers are to Star Trek (we even dress funny and have
conventions, but hardly any of us wear pointy ears).
Unless noted in the text, I will separate the models by their body style, and body style only (this I
believe is valid, since the bodies were what changed the most through the years). Each car will be
given a "Series number". They are as follows:
1966-1969: Duettos and other "roundtails„ - Series 1
1970-1974: The first Kamm tails, "Coda Tronca„ - Series 2
1975-1981: US Market Kamm tails - Series 2a
1982-1991: "Aero" bodies, "Aerodynamica„... the "Duck Tail" years - Series 3
1991-1994: "smooth" bodies - Series 4
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