With its Brera-based Spider now officially out of production, Fiat’s Alfa Romeo brand has begun developing a next-generation droptop that reports from Europe suggest will target the evergreen Mazda MX-5 Miata.
When the Miata was first unveiled in the late 1980s, it was essentially a reborn version of the classic British and Italian roadsters that captivated sports car buyers in North America and Europe from the 1950s through the 1970s. Although Alfa Romeo’s 1966-era Spider was still produced up until the 1994 model year for North American buyers, the more modern and less expensive Miata became the default droptop.
Alfa Romeo redesigned its Spider twice after the original 105-series car was dropped, but it rode on more pedestrian front-wheel-drive architecture and premium features including optional V6 power pushed it to a higher price point than the Mazda. Despite a short-lived effort from General Motors – the Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky and Opel GT – the MX-5 Miata is the only rear-drive roadster on the market for well under $30,000.
Now, Alfa Romeo apparently wants a slice of that pie once again. While the original Spider, the Duetto made famous by Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate was more upmarket than rivals from MG, Triumph and Fiat, the difference in the 1960s and 1970s wasn’t as notable as the gap between the current Miata and its next-closest “rivals,” the $50,000-plus BMW Z4, Mercedes-Benz SLK and Porsche Boxster.
Autocar reports that the next Spider will be powered by Alfa Romeo’s 1.7-liter, 150-horsepower engine used in the Giulietta Cloverleaf and that it will ride on a featherweight chassis around 200 lbs. lighter than the Miata.
Pricing should still be slightly upmarket of the Mazda, reflecting the more premium Alfa Romeo nameplate, but it won’t come close to the outgoing Spider or the pricey German trio.
North American sales are a given since it was this market that snapped up the original Spider in big numbers; while several sedans and coupes were on offer, it was the Spider that truly kept Alfa Romeo’s North American operations afloat during much of the second half of the 20th century. Look for a thinly-veiled concept car to bow at the Geneva Motor Show next March.
References
1.’New Alfa to…’ view
