Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider Veloce "Duetto"

History

The making of the Duetto Spider: The Giulietta Spider was one of the rare stars of automotive design, but that meant even more headaches for the Alfa Romeo team responsible for designing a worthy successor. Thanks to the Giulia saloon and the Giulia Sprint Coupé (Bertone) which were introduced in June of 1962, The technology was avaliable to them. Pininfarina’s Turin bodyshop had already designed prototypes in the 1950s which centered around the fashion of streamlining that was so popular in those days. The Perspex covers over the headlights bear witness to that. On March 10th, 1966, the time had finally come. A renowned Alfa historian defines this day as the day on which the new 1600 Spider represented the “end of one love affair and the start of another” at the Geneva Motor Show. Alfa Romeo had used a major competition as a platform to ask the public for ideas on what to call the model and more than 100,000 suggestions were turned in. The winner, Guidobaldi Trionfi from the Mille Miglia town of Brescia, won a brand new, white“Duetto” for his efforts. Although the name never became its official model designation, Alfa Romeo simply placed the engine type before the name “Spider”. Even today, the name “Duetto” is the very embodiment of this style of body, with the rounded tail (also known as the “boat tail” or “Osso di Seppia” [cuttlefish bone]). The world of cinema helped, too. Just as the new model was launched, a young Dustin Hoffmann could be seen behind the wheel of this car in “The Graduate”. The Alfa Spider subsequently became a cult figure for American youth. The 1600 engine was soon replaced by the 1750 (“Veloce”) and the 1300 (“Junior”), both equipped with the famous twin Weber carburettors released in this country and a Spica injection for the US market. What better way to live the Alfa Romeo myth than behind the wheel of an Alfa Romeo 1750 Veloce Spider from Nostalgic. Experience dreamy Italian settings: Amalfi Coast, the Mille Miglia or Gran Premio Nuvolari in Tuscany, Piedmont or the Lago Maggiore.