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Photography by Armando Musotto
I strongly believe that there are true myths in the automotive panorama, stereotypes that have deep foundations and bring forth continual proof in their favor. Every car has its own peculiarities, some are beloved things we might call “quirks,” while others may be less charming, like a tendency to prematurely spin rod bearings.
You will remember some cars for exaggerated power and incredible success in motorsport, others for their spectacular liveries, others for memories simply because you grew up down the street from one, and fell in love when you were too young to know better.
I love racing cars to the moon, but there are more than enough street cars that I find myself following on an owl’s head pivot when they pass in the opposite lane. A racing car will thrill you in a unique way that gets at something primal in our being, but the car that I will talk about today excites in a different way, something a bit more grounded but still from another planet in comparison to most of the road’s populace.
In my previous visit to Alessio, in his cave of wonders, between the ruins of a Giulietta full of rust and an Alfasud covered by a geologic layer of dust, my eyes fell on a model that I had been looking at the shape of for a long time under its dusty blue canvas—an immediately familiar shape, recognizable from every side.
Perfectly designed and set in a flowing line, with sweet and seductive features, like a woman in the flower of her youth as someone like me might say. We are talking about the Alfa Romeo Spider, with the Kamm-style, truncated tail, a protagonist of summer for many Italian boys looking for company. And if I saw a beautiful woman driving this beautiful car? Too much!
Can we consider a car with more than 40 years to be modern? Can we consider current a car that does not respect the current motoring standards? Well, Duettos and the like are, right now, today, a very popular means toward rewinding time. The point is, it’s not really important when we start calling a car a classic or not, and even though this one surely is, that doesn’t mean its only fans are those that are also quite classic themselves. Young dudes like Alessio are the living proof of this, in my opinion. An old-fashioned but hip owner, able to appreciate these cars while giving them a contemporary purpose.
The original Alfa Romeo Duetto is probably one of the most popular projects of the duo of Pininfarina and Alfa Romeo, a balance between elegance and humility, effortlessly graceful but never something you’d call contrived. To add to the beauty of the form is the fact that the poet Leonardo Sinisgalli gave the car its name in a competition organized by Alfa Romeo’s then-president Giuseppe Luraghi, no stranger to beautiful words himself.
Only the first 190 copies can use the name Duetto though, due to a harsh legal dispute caused by the name of a snack (yes, a snack!), whose producer claimed the right to use the “Duetto” exclusively. So, the denomination was eliminated and the car became simply the Spider after the first series, but the Duetto name remained in the common language as a synonym for Spider to many, as it had already sent down some deep roots.
The Duetto was born in a flourishing period for Alfa Romeo that, conscious of the successes of the previous models, decided to invest in a convertible car, a spider, that would be affordable and friendly enough to unite the tastes and budgets of customers across a wider spectrum, and to give a follow-up to the Giulia GTC, which had remained at the concept stage. The creation of the Duetto, this marvel of all-Italian design, is due in large part to the design work of Franco Martinengo and Aldo Bovarone, who started from a Pininfarina project from the 1960s called the Superflow and drew what would become the Duetto based on that concept. It was Battista Pininfarina in the end, who sanctioned the masterpiece of the form and developed the final version.
The first Duettos leave the Grugliasco factories in 1966, marking the beginning of a multiple-decade-long era of popularity for the little Alfa drop-top. 28 years of production, in fact, separate the first from the fourth series, and I don’t want to hide the fact that I would like to see it again in a newer version, in an era in which Alfa Romeo re-proposes its significant production models. I think the Duetto is a perfect choice for modern day Alfa Romeo to re-imagine; a car for a young public, perhaps more in synch with the pleasures of summertimes when the roof stays down for months on end.
Let’s get back to Alessio’s garage, which feels enough like a daydream already. The cover hid the forms of the car well, but not fully, and in something you might call a blur, all of a sudden I find myself hanging out of the trunk of a moving vehicle as this gorgeous machine gives chase. Among the rows of freshly picked olive trees and the light that filters through a nearby pine forest, it’s hard to imagine a better place to be.
The Duetto is agile and moves well between the narrow country roads, and its 128bhp provide the right amount of fun thrust to get around, but its the beaches of San Teodoro that we’re going for photos today, a setting that can do justice to this beautiful sculpture my camera’s aimed at.
I strongly believe, and I will be happy to be criticized for this opinion, that this car is not special for its speed or agility or performance, but that the Duetto will be remembered so fondly for so many years to come for the pleasure of owning it. For owning something that isn’t perfect, but almost. For owning something that makes you realize that nothing really is perfect, and that we must work with what we have and make the best of it—that’s as close as we’ll get to the ideal life, and surely cars like this one have a part to play both as we make our way toward that life, and if we ever get so lucky to reach it. These are the kind of thoughts that go through my head when the wind is going through my hair in the passenger seat of my friend’s Duetto, and that right there is hard to beat. Perhaps we’ve already arrived.
I own a 1977…was bought new in Chicago then she move on to Scottsdale Arizona…her daughter then inherited it in LA…I then buy it from her with 58000 miles…a beauty 😍…she now lovingly resides in my garage in Paducah Kentucky….the back roads are fabulous and the top never goes up!! I sometimes sit on my stool out in the garage and pinch myself..how is it that I could own something so lovely and perfect!..great article…well written!!
My ’79 Spider has been serving me well for 28 years now. It always manages to bring back the romantic feel of travelling, whether it’s crossing the Northsea to Blighty or crossing the Alps into its country of birth. Also performs well in historic rallying (hence the custom made bumpers and Cibié driving lights).
Great piece Armando! You were able to capture the essence of the car, that I think that also transcends to its place of birth. Italy is a beautiful, disorganized, crazy, delightful mess that couldn’t be more perfect. I had the pleasure of driving one of the later versions of the spider from Tuscany to the Amalfi Coast, lost a gear on the way back, that forced me to go slower and enjoy even more the scenery.
Keep up the good work.
A beautiful car and a nicely-written article.
BUT the car pictured is simply not a Duetto! It’s as if Petrolicious ran photos of a 1950’s Porsche hardtop and waxed eloquently about the Speedster – it just makes you look uninformed.
Here’s a shot of my Duetto. Not as well restored as the squaretail in the article, but a real Duetto.
First fell in love with the original Duetto’s in the 80s when a roommate’s dad offered to sell me his for $2,000. Unfortunately too many lira for a starving student at the time. Many regrets. Finally got around to finding/buying one – same color scheme, silver over red. Most fun car I have ever driven (and I own a E-type and have had 2 Austin Healeys). Something about the mystique of the Alfa Romeo brand. La dolce vita!
Thank you very much for these well chosen words and the beautiful photographs.
„pleasure of owning it“
You captured the essence of the Alfa Romeo Spider here I think. Nothing materialistic, simply the joy and smile you get out of driving it.
Since there are already a few others here, I am glad to share mine as well. „Just“ an S3, but still a real classic. It was my very first car aged 20 years, and I sincerely doubt I will ever sell her again.
Well Armando, you’ve done it again. This article on the gorgeous red spider comes as I just made airline reservations to fly to California to view, drive, and hopefully, buy a Series 4 Spider in red with tan. Although I’ve owned my share of enthusiast cars this will be my first Alfa Romeo and it will fulfill a goal of over 50 years standing. Thanks.
Beautiful pics! And a good point about these cars being perfectly imperfect. I bought an S3 last year that I completely love. And while I am planning the next acquisition, likely 80s 911, I very honestly wonder if something even as capable and iconic as a 911 will provide as much joy.
Another thing that’s special about these cars is, well, there are tons of people who just aren’t into cars. But when they see a Spider, it puts a smile on their face. Few cars have that charisma – this is certainly one of them.
Great report again. All your Alfa stories! Fantastic pictures, great spots! In Sicily again?Trapani?
2 weekends ago I was in Marsala to visit Friends and with your previous report in mind visited the very same windmill stretch there.
Keep the great reports coming and many thanks for it!!
I have a question of pedantic nature – I thought Duetto name was dropped after it went with coda tronca.
Anyway, 115 Spider of any era is my eternal second favorite car (I don’t have the most favorite, just have bunch of the second favorites), and I still consider it to be the most romantic car ever made. It’s the definition of “can’t put my finger on,” in that it’s not the fastest, or prettiest, or any number of anything, but it’s just sort of perfect. This is a car that just makes you glad you are born human. After all those years, I miss mine every single sunny day.