Classic Car of the Week: 1967 Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 Duetto

Take a step back in time to Italy in the 1960s....

The Alfa Romeo Spider was launched at the Geneva motor show in March 1966 alongside the slightly more practically proportioned Giulia Sprint GT Veloce.

The name was selected via write-in competition that saw 100,000 entries ahead of the car’s launch. The winner was Guidobaldo Trionfi, who proposed the name ‘Deutto,’ meaning ‘duet’. Despite winning the competition and the prize, which was a Spider itself, the name couldn’t be officially adopted for trademark reasons. Who said romance was dead in 1960’s Italy?

Nonetheless, Alfa’s Spider went on to be a great success, particularly after it featured in the 1967 blockbuster The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman. Production of the car ran from 1966 until 1993, just short of three decades worth of production with only minor aesthetic adjustments throughout its lifespan. Engines ranged from 1.3-litre, 1.6-litre and 1.8-litre units in the early models to a 2.0-litre power plant by the release of the second generation.

Its classic sixties lines were penned by Pininfarina – perhaps one of the most famous design houses in history – which first appeared in the shape of the 1956 Alfa Romeo Superflow and 1959 Super Sport concept cars. By 1961, the design had almost been perfected when Alfa Romeo showed the Giulietta SS Spider Aerodinamica in 1961. The production car differed very little with the exposed headlamps being the only obvious change.

This particular first generation model is a left-hand-drive 1.6-litre from 1967. Delivered new to the Netherlands and subsequently shipped to the UK in 1993, the car is finished in Rosso red with Nero black interior. This car will be offered at auction by Silverstone Auctions as part of the Salon Privé sale on Saturday 3rd September 2016. Click here for more details.

Guide price: £24,000 – £28,000

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