1969 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Spider Duetto

Lot details
Registration No: NNM799H
Chassis No: AR1410559
Mot Expiry: July 2006

In the immediate post-war period the Italian Alfa Romeo company continued to build upon its pre-war reputation for making stunning looking cars with exquisite thoroughbred engines and that irresistible Italian 'vivavce'. The delectable Pinninfarina styled Giulietta Spider of 1955 had all these features and more, being sympathetically uprated in 1962 to become the Giulia Spider when it received the mechanicals of the then new Giulia Berlina. However a brand new bodyshell was not far away and in true Alfa tradition more than a few jaws hit the floor when the stunning Pinninfarina styled Spider Duetto was revealed in 1966. With its distinctive elongated 'boattail' and integrated bumpers the Duetto name was the result of an internal competition held amongst Alfa Romeo employees to name the new car - although what prize he received for the winning suggestion is not recorded! The Spider Duetto's most famous moment came when it appeared in the cult Dustin Hoffman film 'The Graduate' and this ensured an enduring appeal in the States, despite a price tag which in the UK put the car in direct competition with that other famous '60s icon, the Jaguar E-Type. As with all Alfa Romeos the Spider was thoroughly developed throughout its long production life (the basic design finally ceased production in 1993), the first development being the introduction of the new 1779cc engine to replace the 1570cc Giulia unit in the 1750 Spider model introduced at the end of 1967. Shortly after this the car's distinctive boattail was also changed to a Kamm type design although the inherent correctness of the basic design shows in that to this day opinion is divided as to which treatment was the most attractive.
Due to its short production life of only 2 years the 1750 Spider with the boattail is one of the rarest of all the Spider variants. The car for sale here today is a LHD 1969 Duetto which is believed to have covered only 81,000 KM from new, there being several MOTs in the history file to support this, the current one expiring in July. We are also told that there are bills totalling almost £7,500 on file showing how the car has been brought to its present condition, including bills from specialists Gran Turismo. Originally built as a 1750 it is now fitted with a 1570cc engine together with the standard 5-speed gearbox and finished in traditional Alfa Red with a black interior must be one of the most stylish ways to enjoy summer motoring.