Development In 1962, Alfa Romeo introduced the new 105 Series
Giulia, which first complemented and then replaced the 101-series
Giulietta. The sport variants of the Giulietta remained on sale for several more years, upgraded to the Giulia's 1.6-litre engine and rebadged Giulia, until analogous variants of the new models were ready. Thus, the Giulietta-based Giulia Spider 1600 and Giulia Spider Veloce were produced from 1962 to 1965 and from 1963 to 1965, respectively. The Alfa Romeo Spider was based on Giulia mechanicals, including its
Alfa Romeo twin cam inline-four, independent front and solid axle rear suspension, and
unibody construction, incorporating the relatively new principles of
crumple zones into the front and rear. Following the evolution the other Giulia sport variants, the Spider was powered by a 1.6 L engine, later received a 1750 cc, then a 1300 cc, and finally a 2000 cc engine. Unlike any other Giulia derivative, it was upgraded and continued to sell through four decades, into the 1990s. As for its predecessor the Giulietta Spider, the Italian firm of Pininfarina was responsible for the design, manufacturing of the body, and final assembly. The 1600 Spider was the last project in which founder
Battista Pininfarina was involved.
Giulia GT Spider The 1963 Giulia GT Spider was intended as a replacement for the Pininfarina-designed
Giulia Spider. Centro Stile Alfa Romeo and
Bertone presented a proposition for a two-seater sports car that was developed between 1962 and 1963. Chassis type 105.03 was the same as the future "Duetto" Spider. The car was designed by Ernesto Cattoni and realised by Bertone. The overall style was very similar to the Giugiaro-designed, coupé version of Giulia, but on a shorter chassis. The car never went into production and remained a prototype, bearing serial number 002.
Design The original 1966 Spider shape was the result of a number of Pininfarina design studies,
concept cars showing traits incorporated in the final production design. The first one was the
Alfa Romeo Superflow, a concept car built on the chassis of a retired
6C 3000 CM racing car and first shown at the 1956
Turin Motor Show, designed by
Aldo Brovarone. It was similar in shape to the production car, but for
hideaway headlamps. Despite the almost final design being ready in 1961, the continuing success of existing models and the economic challenges facing Italy at the time meant that the first pre-launch production Spiders began to emerge from the Pininfarina production line only at the end of 1965. and together with the
Giulia Sprint GT Veloce tested by the press at an event organised in
Gardone Riviera. To choose a name for the new Spider, Alfa Romeo announced a write-in competition, offering an example of the new car as a prize. Over 100,000 ballots were sent in, the great majority from Italy; the winner was Guidobaldo Trionfi from
Brescia, who proposed the name "Duetto" (duet). In the UK the car's price was close to a
Jaguar E-Type. In January 1968, in
Vietri sul Mare (
Salerno), Alfa Romeo introduced the press to its
1750 line of cars, which included the new
1750 Berlina saloon, the Giulia Sprint-based
1750 GT Veloce coupé, and the 1600 Spider-based
1750 Spider Veloce, which replaced the original Spider 1600. All were powered by the same engine, a new 1,779 cc, (; or ) version of the Alfa Romeo twin cam engine. According to Alfa Romeo engine output and performance were unchanged from the carburetted version. Modifications were also made to the suspension, brakes, electrics, and 14" wheels, though the car looked effectively the same. Visible differences were limited to the rear-view mirror repositioned to the door, and badging on the tail, which read "Alfa Romeo" and "iniezione" (injection). A new lower priced spider, the
Spider 1300 Junior, was introduced in June 1968 alongside the
GTA 1300 Junior competition coupé. Its 1,290 cc twin cam engine was the same used on the
GT 1300 Junior coupé, and produced ; or . File:Alfa Romeo Spider 4th series.jpg|Spider 4th series side profile File:Alfa romeo spider serie4 closed.jpg|Spider 4th series top closed File:Alfa Romeo Spider rear 20080220.jpg|Spider 4th series showing the new rear end ==Production==