Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider - of octopuses and heavy inheritances

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Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider - of octopuses and heavy inheritances

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Created on October 11, 2012

Text:

Stefan Fritschi

Photos:

Wolfgang Wilhelm / Archiv Daniel Reinhard

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Daniel Reinhard

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Bruno von Rotz

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Archiv

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Alfa Romeo Duetto 1750 Spider Veloce (1969) - the shape of the rear was reminiscent of an octopus

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Alfa Romeo Duetto 1750 Spider Veloce (1969) - 1969 saw the end of the first series, the successor had a fastback rear end

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Alfa Romeo Duetto 1750 Spider Veloce (1969) - the design of the front remained until the nineties

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Alfa Romeo Duetto 1750 Spider Veloce (1969) - the version with 1,750 cm3 was the fastest way to drive a Duetto

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Alfa Romeo Duetto 1750 Spider Veloce (1969) - it looked exactly the same in the movie "The Graduate"

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Alfa Romeo Duetto 1750 Spider Veloce (1969) - "Osso di Sepia" is what the Italians called it

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Alfa Romeo Duetto 1750 Spider Veloce (1969) - an almost immortal design by Pininfarina

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Alfa Romeo Duetto 1750 Spider Veloce (1969) - the gearshift moved directly in the gearbox - it couldn't have been better

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Alfa Romeo Duetto 1750 Spider Veloce (1969) - sporty dashboard design

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Alfa Romeo Duetto 1750 Spider Veloce (1969) - classic wooden steering wheel

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Alfa Romeo Duetto 1750 Spider Veloce (1969) - two large main instruments for revs and speed

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Alfa Romeo Duetto 1750 Spider Veloce (1969) - The classic Alfa twin-camshaft engine in the front of the Duetto

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Alfa Romeo Duetto 1750 Spider Veloce (1969) - the famous headlight covers - not permitted in the USA

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Alfa Romeo Duetto 1750 Spider Veloce (1969) - the rounded rear end with the delicate taillights

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Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider Speciale Aerodinamica (1961) - five years before the duet was launched, this concept car by Pininfarina anticipated key features

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Alfa Romeo Spider SS (1961) - Pininfarina creation, based on the Giuliette Sprint Speciale, shown at the 1958 Turin Motor Show

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Alfa Romeo 1600 Spider (1965) - the rear was reminiscent of an octopus, hence the name "Osso di Sepia"

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Alfa Romeo 1600 Spider (1966) - the design was not to the taste of all Alfisti at the time

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Alfa Romeo Duetto (1966) - a test car on a test drive

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 (1966) - with hardtop for better winter suitability

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 (1966) - also available with hardtop

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 (1966) - the characteristic rear end of the first series

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 (1966) - the Plexiglas lamp covers looked sporty

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 (1966) - Pininfarina had already defined the line with the "Spider Speciale Aerodinamica" study in 1961

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 (1966) - a clear departure in form from the earlier Giulia Spider

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 (1966) - the Alfa was technically advanced

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 (1967) - the design of the front end lasted for almost 20 years

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 (1967) - the name "Duetto" came from a competition

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 (1967) - room for two and a bit more

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 (1967) - was not cheap, but still very popular

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 (1968) - the ideal summer fun

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 (1968) - the dashboard - central rev counter and speedometer

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1750 Veloce (1968) - Interior with three-spoke steering wheel

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1750 Veloce (1968) - visually, the more powerful Spider hardly differed from the smaller model

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Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider (1969) - masterful design by Pininfarina

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Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider (1969) - Transparent drawing from a sales brochure

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1300 Junior (1969) - the Junior was an affordable entry-level model on the market

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1300 Junior (1969) - visually, the Spider Junior hardly differed from its more powerful brothers

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1300 (1969) - the steering wheel was missing a spoke, but otherwise the dashboard was still complete

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1750 Veloce (1969) - the "leading role" in the movie "The Graduate" made it world-famous

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1750 Veloce (1969) - the fastest way to drive a "Duetto"

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Alfa Romeo Spider 1750 (1969) - competed with the 124 Spider from Fiat

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Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider Veloce (1970) - one of the most popular Alfas of all time

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Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider Veloce (1970) - the Duetto successor with fastback rear was built longer than its predecessor

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Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider Veloce (1970) - the fastback rear of the Duetto successor offered more trunk space

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Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider Veloce (1970) - "Coda Tronca" was the name given to the fastback rear of the successor to the "Duetto"

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Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider Veloce (1970) - the Duetto successor also remained the dream of many a young woman

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Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider Veloce (1970) - the interior of the Duetto successor featured a clearly shaped center console

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Techno Classica 2011 - Tradition combined with modernity - Alfa Romeo Spider

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Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider Veloce (1969) - at the Gaisbergrennen 2012 - sports car class

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Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider (1968) - at the Ennstal Classic 2011 (EP4 190)

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Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider (1966) at the Michaelskreuzrennen 2011 (starting number 315)

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Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider (1968) - at the Ennstal Classic 2011 (EP4 190)

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Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider (1968) - at the Ennstal-Classic 2012 - Stoderzinken mountain stage

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Summary

From 1955 to 1965, Alfa Romeo built the extremely successful Giulietta and Giulia Spider. Creating a successor was no easy task. However, the new Spider from 1966 accomplished this feat and laid the foundations for a career that would last for four model generations until 1993. The Duetto, the first version of the "new" Spider, is legendary, not least because of its "starring role" in the film "The Graduate". This report sheds light on its origins and shows the vehicle in current and historical pictures, as well as in two sales brochures.

This article contains the following chapters

Further information
Several styling studies as trailblazers
Presentation in Geneva 1966 as the 1600 Spider Duetto
Duetto as a short-lived model designation
From 1967 as 1750 without Duetto, but with Veloce
Downsizing to the 1300 Spider Junior from summer 1968
Inexpensive as a 1300 Junior
A 27-year success story

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Since the mid-fifties, "Alfa Spider" has been synonymous with sporty and open-top transportation for the medium-sized wallet. Like the first two generations Giulietta Spider (1955 to 1961) and Giulia Spider (1962 to 1965), which were extremely successful and popular with the Alfisti, the newcomer with development code 105 from 1966 was also based on mass-produced mechanics and yet did not dispense with (engine) technical highlights. In contrast to some English roadsters, the Alfa Spider was ahead of its time. However, it was also considerably more expensive than the competition from the island. In 1966, the Spider cost an impressive 3,950 dollars in the USA, the most important export market, while the MGB Roadster could be bought for as little as 2600 dollars.

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