First drive: Alfa Spider
Newswheel staff :: 26 June 2006 :: Filed under Cabriolet, Alfa Romeo, Alfa Romeo Spider, Europe & UK,
[Click on an image to view]
When Alfa Romeo launched its inordinately sassy, Pininfarina-designed Duetto Spider at the Geneva Show back in 1966 it made something of a rod for it’s own back. Such was that car’s timeless beauty that an all-new Spider didn’t appear until the mid-1990s, some three decades later. Although the most recent model’s wedge-shaped styling certainly held its head above water, it lacked the almost incomparable visual appeal of the original. Ten years on and we find ourselves at the Sicily-based press launch of the newest Spider. Now you’ll have to trust us on this, but roof either up or down, this Brera-based Spider looks even better in the metal than it does in photos…
So, praise indeed to both Pininfarina and Alfa’s in-house styling team as the new car’s highly desirable, clean cut appearance has been achieved without resort to trendy gimmickry, excessive reliance on retro pastiche or indeed any tacky over-styling.
Though still to be confirmed, it’s expected the Spider will go on sale in the UK in Feb 2007 at a price of approximately £1,200 over that of the equivalent Brera - ie. from around £24,000 to £28,700. Like the Brera, the new Spider’s chassis is derived from the 159 saloon’s and will be powered by the same pair of petrol engines – namely a transversely-mounted 2.2-litre, 4cyl JTS petrol unit with 185bhp and 170lbs/ft of torque running through a six-speed manual to the front wheels and a 3.2-litre V6 mated to a six-speed manual delivering a wholesome 260bhp and 237lb/ft to all four wheels .
Sicily in summer. And a fleet of Alfas to abuse. Life could be worse
As with Alfa Spiders of old, the new model makes no pretence at being a 2+2 cabrio, at least not in terms of accommodation. Behind the seats is little more than a pair of lockable stowage bins and space for some light luggage. Bucking the current trend for tin-top convertibles, at the touch of a button the cloth roof folds at a leisurely pace into a separate storage area between cockpit and 235-litre boot. The cabin itself is well equipped and well finished and, ‘though not quite as impressive as the exterior, the dash and interior look good and appear well built – certainly nothing squeaked, rattled or came loose on the any of three Spiders we drove on the launch.
With driving position electronically adjusted to suit (gone is the long-legged, short-armed Alfa posture of yesteryear, unless you so choose…), the 2.2 fires on the button and settles into a mellow but barely discernable burble. Clutch action is very light and takes a little getting used to when moving away from stationary, but the 6-speed gearchange action is superb. Steering is also light, and quite direct, and so requires little effort or movement at the wheel. An exuberant cornering style will provoke squealing understeer, especially on polished and dusty Sicilian roads, but with the electronic traction systems engaged it’s no big deal. Fortunately that dreaded downside of torsionally less rigid convertibles, scuttle shake, is barely noticeable except when driving on particularly rutted roads, and even then it remains acceptable.
The 4cyl JTS motor is smooth, flexible and ‘though also over-silenced, sounds pleasantly fruity. All well and good then, except that even when driven hard the smaller-engined Spider doesn’t feel quick. Of course, 185bhp should be sufficient for most duties, but if you reckon a sports car should pack a proper punch then you’ll likely prefer the bigger V6 version.
The 3.2 is certainly no slouch, but on the road it doesn’t feel desperately quick either. Due to its broad spread of power, tall gearing and near 1.7 tonne weight, the V6 doesn’t drive like a point and squirt sports car. Naturally, it sips a little more fuel but it’s even smoother, more flexible, substantially gutsier and, although also a little too muted, sounds sweeter still.
Despite those 260 horses and all-wheel-drive, the 3.2 doesn’t encourage frisky, spirited driving. Rather than neck-snapping acceleration the big Spider instead delivers the sort of forceful gathering of momentum also provided by big, long-legged sports saloons. Consequently the V6 would feel more at home on a long stretch of open autostrada than a sinuous Sicilian B-road. That said, maintaining a straight course at high speed on a less than perfect surface requires a tad more driver input than it would, say, in a big Merc…
Alfa claims that the new Spider can complete a recently standardized lane change test at 135km/h compared with the class benchmark Porsche Boxster’s 130km/h, and achieve 1g lateral acceleration in corners. Additionally, according to Alfa top brass, a front-drive 159 (on which the Brera and Spider are based) can outpace a similarly powerful, rear-drive BMW 3 Series on the Nurburgring’s Nordschleife, so we’re not talking duffer here. That said, in the real world the Spider is a great looking Italian roadster that feels more like a good four-seater cabrio to drive. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, unless you expect your sports car to feel genuinely sporty.
| Alfa Romeo Spider 2.2 JTS & 3.2 V6 Q4 |
|
| Price | From £24,000 to £28,700 (tbc) |
| Engines | 2.2 in-line four, 3.2 V6 |
| Power | 185bhp & 260bhp |
| 0-62mph | 8.8secs & 7.0secs |
| Vmax | 135mph & 146mph |
| Economy (comb. cycle) | 30.1 & 24.6mpg |
| CO2 emissions | 221g/km & 273g/km |
| Kerb weight | 1,530kg & 1,690kg |
| Insurance groups | 15 & 18 (est.) |
Posted 16 January 2007, by Remi.h
http://onlineviagra--news2.blogspot.com
http://onlineviagra--news3.blogspot.com
http://odietpill--forum4.blogspot.com
http://dani-mybloglife.blogspot.com