Via Veloce by Wille R. www.veloce.se since November 1995 and still here.
Alfa Romeo Spider Frequently Asked Questions. FAQ!
The name "Duetto"
The round-tail is also nick-named "boat-tail" and "Osso
di Seppia", which means "cuttle-fish-bone". In Germany
people say "Rundheck". Anyway, the design still looks very
attractive. The choice for the name of the new car was decided by a
competition. The name Duetto was one of more than 140.000 entries.
The winner, Sig. Guidobaldi Trionfi from Brescia, got a brand new car as a
prize. Among the other suggestions included Gina Lollobrigida, Bardot,
Piranha, Acapulco, Shakespeare! Al Capone, Pizza, Stalin, Sputnik,
Edelweiss, Gin, Strip, Goal and Hitler! Duetto is nicer, much nicer.
The original 1600-engined round-tail Spider was launched with no name
and so everyone referred to it, logically enough, as the Alfa Romeo Spider
1600. This persisted even after the results of the competition came down
in favour of the name Duetto. Despite the fact that many people still
refer to this earliest member of the Spider family as the Spider 1600, its
official title for most of its life was always Duetto - so that's how I
will refer to it.
The Duetto was publicly launched at the Geneva Motor Show on 10th March
1966 as a replacement for the 101 series Giulia Spider. Only a single
model was ever offered, with very few optional extras and minimal changes
during its production cycle.
Dont forget the Graduate movie, feauturing Dustin Hoffman and a Duetto.
If you have any comments, please send an E-mail
Back
to FAQ. First published
2 November 1999
Next
As
the time for refreshing the model approached, it was intended to replace
the 1600-engined Duetto at one stroke with a two-model range - the 1300
Junior and the 1750 Spider Veloce. In the event, the 1750 Veloce model was
ready for launch in January 1968, while the 1300 took until June 1968 to
arrive. Therefore, although production of the 1600-engined Duetto
effectively came to a close at the end of 1967, it continued to be offered
alongside the 1750 Spider Veloce for a time as the 'entry-level' Spider.
Its price was reduced by 50,000 lire, since the new 1750 would be launched
at exactly the same price, as the Duetto had been - 2,195,000 lire. At
least one 1600-engined Duetto was produced after 1967: depending on the
source, the last one was made either in 1969 or in 1970.
Top