New details have emerged about the Alfa Romeo Spider which will allegedly go on sale in late 2015.
The car will be based on the next-gen Mazda MX-5 platform and will be manufactured in Japan. Styling is almost completed by Marco Tencone’s team at Fiat’s Centro Stile and a satellite studio based in Japan. Pininfarina apparently won’t be involved in designing the car, even though they made the original mid-1960s boat-tail “Duetto” and the 2010 2uettottanta concept.
Insiders say the production version will be a follow-up of the 2010 concept and “won’t be retro in design” as it “has to be contemporary and must fit into the range with the modern 4C.” The Spider is likely to receive more conventional headlights rather than the much criticized clusters of the 4C.
The car is rumored to come with the firm’s “shield” grille flanked by lower air intake “whiskers” but in a more subtle approach compared to the 4C.
The next-gen Mazda MX-5 and Alfa Romeo Spider will use the same front and rear axles, engine compartments, front bulkhead and windscreens. Both of them will be approximately 4 meters long and 1.7 meters wide, but the Alfa should be a few centimeters longer than its Japanese sibling. Curb weight will be of around 1,000 – 1,100 kg by using a lot of high-strength steel in the body structure.
Another insider said the cars will “have different bodies” while the Spider will get its own engines. Upon launch we should expect a turbocharged 1.4-liter TB MultiAir available in the Giulietta with 119 bhp (89 kW) or 168 bhp (125 kW), but in the Spider it should offer more power. This engine will be connected to a dual-clutch six-speed automatic transmission. Even though the car will need longitudinal engine installation, company sources are saying the TB can be modified to be compatible.
The new Mazda MX-5 will be revealed in early 2015, while the Alfa Romeo Spider should be out around November.