Car Spot: Series 4 Alfa Romeo Spider

The last design personally attributed to Battista Pininfarina

I bet if you went to any event and asked people to name one Italian sports car, they’d say Ferrari because of the brand’s legacy of performance and luxury. After all, who wouldn’t want to own one, but then there’s the money, it’s always about the money, which makes this week’s spot, a Series 4 Alfa Romeo Spider, the perfect alternative for an Italian car that won’t bust your budget.

At one time, this car was the king of affordable Italian convertibles. It stood the test of time for nearly thirty years before the Mazda MX-5 came along. The fact that the Alfa Romeo Spider was in production for that length of time with only cosmetic changes on each new release means that even a late edition Series 4 car, such as this one, can propel you straight back to where it all began. In 1967, “Summer of Love”, the film The Graduate, and the actor, a young Dustin Hoffman, drove a Series 1 Alfa Romeo ‘Duetto’ Spider. This association made the car so popular that Alfa Romeo eventually created a “Graduate” trim level. The two-seat, front-engined, rear-drive roadster was manufactured and marketed by Alfa Romeo from 1966 to 1994 in four distinct series, each with modifications ranging from modest to extensive.

Alfa utilized Giulia mechanicals, independent front and solid axle rear suspension, and unibody construction, while incorporating the relatively new principles of crumple zones into the front and rear. Following the evolution of the other Giulia sport variants, the Spider was powered by a 1.6 L engine, which was later replaced by a 1750 cc, then a 1300 cc, and finally a 2000 cc engine. It sold better than its Giulia cousins, as it was upgraded and continued to sell through four decades, into the 1990s. North American Series 4 models came standard with power steering, larger knee bolsters, and a driver-side airbag.

While the bulk of sales went to North America, it never sold in big numbers. Its best year was 91 when it sold almost 10,000 units. When production ended in 1993, although 93s were sold as 94s in North America, a total of 110,128 were sold

The list of attainable vintage Italian sports cars is a short one, but later generations of the long-running Alfa Spider have long been on it. The Series 4 version, like this one, from the ’90s, was the last one. Base models have consistently fallen under the $30K threshold in #2 condition, according to Hagerty. The higher-spec Veloce models peaked at $32,700 in 2023 and have since dropped to $28K. Veloces added leather seats, replacing vinyl, 15-inch alloy wheels, instead of steelies with hub caps, standard air conditioning, and a standard cloth top.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest spot. I hope you’re having a great holiday season. Return next week to read about another one of my discoveries, along with some of its history. Arrivederci:)