Series 1 - Alfa Romeo 1966 to 1994 Spider Faq

For any non-American readers, I must apologize for the "US-centric-ness„ of this document. US
cars are the cars that I am most familiar with, and so will write the most about. I will try to make
an effort to note where the European models differ from the US models. However, since a
number of US Spiders are being "exported„ by private individuals to Europe and other parts of
the world, the entire document will probably be of some interest to you.

Series 1

It probably seems surprising to us today, but when the 105/115 Spider was first introduced (the
Series 1 cars), it was quite poorly received in the press. It was thought "gimmicky„ or "poured
from a jelly mold„ or other, even less kind things. Its coupe sibling, the 105 GTV, wasn"t treated
any better. It is difficult to convey to readers who don"t remember what automotive designs were
like in the 1960s, when the car was introduced, how different and avante garde it really was. To
put it in some sort of perspective, it should be noted that the 105 Berlina (the four-door sedan
version of the 105 series, also sometimes called a "Saloon„), whose styling, by current standards,
can only charitably be called "plain„, was considered by far the most attractive body style of the
105 Series by the 1960s-era automotive press. Fashions change in automobiles no less than in
clothing. (However, to avoid being lynched by all those Berlina owners, who if anything are even
more dedicated to their cars than Spider owners, it should be noted that the Berlina outperformed
the Spider in most respects, and is considered by many to be the only "real„ Alfa of the 105
series.)
Time has caught up with the Spider"s design (this seems to be a common occurrence with Alfas
of all sorts), since I have never heard anyone say anything bad about the looks of the cars today.
Quite the contrary, their styling bears much more resemblance to modern cars than anyone could
have predicted when it was introduced.
At least some of the design features of the body styling date back to the Superflow 1 and 2 show
cars introduced in the mid 1950s. The final shape of the 105 Spider was heavily based on
"aerodynamica„ show cars that premiered in the early 1960s. It was probably the final design that
Pinin Farina, the head of a famous Italian automotive designing firm, himself had a hand in.
Pinin Farina, in case you aren"t familiar with the name, is the man, and the design firm, directly
responsible for a great deal of the designs Ferrari produced in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as
many other famous Italian cars. Indeed, a Pinin Farina-designed car (a 1951 Cisitalia 202 Gran
Sport) is to this day on permanent exhibition at the New York Museum of Modern Art as one of
the ten best automotive designs of all time.
When the Spider premiered it sported a "boat tail"... the rear sloped to a point just like the front.
Alfa originally tried to name the car "Duetto", a name picked from a contest held after the car's
introduction. Unfortunately (or not, depending on your point of view), the name was reserved by,
depending on who you believe, either Volvo or an Italian pastry company, and the Duetto name
was never officially adopted. The Italians called these Series 1 cars "osso di sepia", or cuttlefish
bone, a comparison that will be obvious to parakeet owners all over the world. Americans tend to
call them "round tails" or "boat tails".
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