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The various Alfa Romeo Spiders.

If you like to know the pedigree of your Alfa, write a letter with your chassis # (VIN) to Sig. Antanio Magro

ArchivioStorico@alfaromeo.com                   www.archiviostorico.alfaromeo.it

Archivo Storico, Archivio Alfa Romeo
Antonio Magro
Alfa Romeo
Viale Alfa Romeo
I-20020 Arese (MI)
ITALY
Fax (+39) 0 29 31 57 46

There are some extra sites about the Spider statistics and VINs on the web.

Alfa Romeo Duetto. This is my Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider Veloce model year 1967. Picture taken in Marliana, north of Montecatini in Toscana.

The 750-series or the later 101-series, the Giulietta Spider (Veloce) Equipped with a 1300 cc engine and made from 1955 - 1962. The Giuliettas have a chrome strip on the bonnet. The Veloce model has double carburetors.

Giulia Spider. The Giulia Spider has an engine capacity of 1600 cc. The bonnet has a small air-slot, unlike the Giulietta. The Giulia Spider was manufactured between 1962 and 1965.

Spider 2000 Touring. Manufactured between 1958 to 1961. The body was build by Carrozzeria Touring. Also known as the '102'series. 1900 Berlina based 4-cylinders 2000 cc engine.

Spider 2600 Touring. The Spider 2600 Touring looks like its 2000 Touring cousin and was made from 1962 to 1965. The car was somewhat larger however and some details show that this is a '106'-series car powered by the 6-cylinders in line 2600 cc engine.

Original series Coda Longa "Osso di Seppia" or the Duetto. Pininfarina designed the Duetto and manufactured these cars too from 1966 to 1969. There were three versions of the Duetto. In the US cars are referred to as Round-tails or Boat-tails. In Europe "Osso di Seppia" which means "cuttle-fish" BTW and "Coda Longa" are the identities used.

Check your chassis number to see the origin of your Spider. The number is stamped on the firewall in the engine bay close to the silk-screened plate. If you register, you'll get complete access to the Round-tail register.

There is a complete list over the various Alfa Romeo Spiders on the web with more details and information .

1600 Duetto 1966 - 1967, 1600 cc, 109hp. Total 6325 cars with chassis number 105.03.66.xxx
Production figures
1966: 3363 incl. 98 RHD
1967 2958, 281 RHD
1968 3 and one single 1970.

1750 Spider Veloce 1967 - 1969, 1779 cc, 118hp. Total 3280 cars with chassis number 105.57.141.xxx Euro LAD, 105.62.147.xxx RHD and 105.62.148.xxx US
Production figures
1967: 854,
1968 1227 incl. 259 US versions
1969 1199

1300 Spider Junior 1968 - 1969. 1290 cc, 89hp. Total 2680 cars with chassis number 105.91.167.xxx, RHD chassis 105.92.169.xxx
Production figures
1968 1840 incl. 97 RHD
1969 840

2nd series Coda Tronca or the "Kamm-tail" The German Professor Kamm had made his aerodynamic studies in the' 30s, thus the name. The Round-tail was cut off in 1970 and replaced by a Kamm-tail. The difference is visible as the straight rear end of the car which contributed to the name 'Coda Tronca'. Technically the cars are close to identical, still based on the 105-Giulia.

The 1600 cc and the 2000 cc models produced after 1975 are based on the 115 series, 'Giulia Nuova'. The US versions have a Spica mechanical fuel injection system.

• 1750 Spider Veloce 1970 - 1973. 1779 cc 118 hp. Total 1 394 cars with chassis number 105.57.182xxx
• 1300 Spider Junior 1970 - 1978. 1290 cc 89 hp. Total 2 371 cars with chassis number 115.07.220.xxx
• 2000 Spider Veloce 1971 - 1977. 1962 cc 130 hp. Total 7 368 cars with chassis number 115.24.246.xxx
• 2000 Spider Veloce 1975 - 1982. 1962 cc 128 hp. Total 8 592 cars with chassis number 115.38.246.xxx
• 1600 Spider Junior 1972 - 1975. 1570 cc 110hp. Total 2 371 cars with chassis number 115.07.220.xxx
• 1600 Spider Junior 1975 - 1982. 1570 cc 102hp. Total 8 952 cars with chassis number 115.35.000.xxx
• 1750 Spider Veloce US 1968 - 1972. Spica fuel injection. Total 4 027 cars with chassis number 105.57.148.xxx
• 2000 Spider Veloce US 1971 - 1982. Spica fuel injection. Total 22 059 cars with chassis number 105.24.246.0xx were shipped to the USA.

3rd series Spider Aerodinamica "Spoiler-Alfas" In 1982 the Spider got a spoiler, both in the front and back. This design was there to please the export to the USA. European market models are again almost identical to the US models. Bosch L-Jetronic, which was also used on later European cars replaced the Spica system.

In 1983 and 1984, there was just the Spider Veloce.

In 1985 the line was split into three models, the Graduate, Veloce, and Quadrifoglio (pronounced "kwah-drih-FOH-lee-oh). The Graduate was the "introductory" level of trim, with vinyl seats, vinyl top, and steel wheels. The Veloce came with leather seats, a cloth top, power windows and power external rear view mirrors, and very attractive "star" alloy wheels. The Quadrifoglio came with specially designed leather seats, canvas top, "phone dial" alloy wheels, a/c standard, special carpeting, a redesigned front spoiler and tacked-on "side skirts, and a detachable hard top.

It should be noted that the cars differed only in trim, not in anything important like engine output or handling goodies. The Graduate was advertised as an "Enthusiast's Car"... i.e. it got all the important stuff, but not the gadgets or the plush things.

• Graduate = vinyl seats, no power windows or mirrors, steel wheels (sometime with platic covers).
• Veloce = leather seats, power windows and mirrors, Campagnolo "star" alloy wheels.
• Quadrifoglio = all above, phone dial wheels, side skirts, and removable hardtop
  A/C was an option Veloce, maybe on the Grad, maybe standard on the quad.

Italian cars are always red, or?

Is Rosso always red? No, Alfa started to use bright red but through the years the red color turned more burgundy or blue. Check the color codes for Rosso.

Ever wondered why racing cars in Europe have different colors? Italians are red, French blue, British are racing green. Germans are silver bright since the Mercedes were beaten by Bentleys on Le Mans in the '30s and they scraped of the paint in order to gain a reduced weight.

Actually Mercedes sanded off their white paint because their races cars exceeded the permissible curb weight for the race by four pounds. The Germans in classic Teutonic order had designed the cars to fall just under the permissible weight, but they had failed to take into consideration the fluids in the vehicle. So when filled with oil and coolant, the cars exceeded race rules. The engineers then decided to remove some part of the car that was unnecessary. The only thing that they could think of was the paint. They won well that year so they changed their official race color to silver.

The red color is still an Italian racing favorite and I am quite pleased with my Rosso Farina.

The Spider Veloce is a Duetto with a 1750 engine. It's hard to see the difference between a Duetto and a Spider Veloce. The name Duetto was abandoned when Alfa Romeo changed the beautiful round tail to a Kamm-tail. Have a look at my photos. The name Duetto was the result of a contest which evidently produced nothing revolutionary in naming the new spider 1966. There was also a biscuit with the same name and even Volvo had a car named Duett.

Twin cams and lots of carburetors!

Alfa Romeo cars have had twin overhead cams in their engine for more than 80 years. Check the twin-cam head.. So have the modern Spiders, starting with the Giulietta Spider in the '50s. The Giulietta Spider is a very attractive spider and many parts were brought along when the Giulia range was produced in the '60s. This is quite an advantage when restoring any Alfa Romeo, mechanical parts are normally no problem.

The 1750 engine has four in line cylinders, 80 x 88,5 mm giving a total displacement of 1779 cc. Max. power output at 5500 rpm was 132 SAE or 122 DIN. The five speed gear-box gave a top speed in 1967 of more than 180 kmh. There's a photo in the gallery

That's quality!

Of the 19 Alfa Romeo's I have owned, I hold the 164 as the most comfortable. It was very relaxing to cruise all over Europe without feeling tired at all. The climate in the 164 is excellent.

My first Alfa was a 1957 Alfa Giulietta Sprint, Rosso naturalmente! This car had no floor mounted gear-shift, it was on the steering wheel. This car was my introduction to Alfas in the early '60s. I kept it until 1976 when a close fried of mine bought it. It is still running and looks very good and modern even in the '90s.

Another good Alfa is the Giulia Super, a popular model from the '60s. It looked like the inside of a refrigerator, where the wall is designed to hold bottles, eggs etc. But I liked it and so did a lot of other Alfaholics. It was a good racing car.

My Giulia GT from 1966 is one of my absolute favorites. This model was designed by Bertone and is one of the most desired Alfas in Scandinavia. They were produced with various engines until 1975 I believe. The 2000 GTV that made its debut in 1972 sure was a killer!

The Alfa 145 is a very nice car indeed. The whole family is very fond of the new Alfa 145, named "Giovanna". She's a popular member of the family and there is no riviality between Gina and Giovanna. Lucky me!

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