Two new Alfa Romeos arrive in Ireland in June. Andrew Hamilton rolls out a welcome for the Spider and the GTV
Maybe it's time for a remake, of The Graduate, now that Alfa Romeo is beckoning with a new Alfa Spider - and a new GTV as well. The Spider was, of course, one of the alluring stars of that movie starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. The Hollywood treatment naturally boosted its appeal: the car was in production from 1966 to 1993 with more than 110,000 produced.
Plenty of examples of this film-star car should still be around but a museum model was the backdrop to the international press presentation of the two new Alfas at the Pininfarina headquarters close to Turin. For the uninitiated, Pininfarina is a styling and engineering house that has been going for over 70 years. It has a roll of honour that includes many of the popular cars of yesteryear.
Pininfarina brought styling form to the Austin A40, the Morris 1100, the Peugeot 404 and 504. For over 50 years, it has been closely involved with that most exotic of Italian marques, Ferrari, as well as other Italian brands such as Fiat, Lancia and, of course, Alfa Romeo.
Ford is a recent client. The StreetKa, recently detailed in Motors and about to make its Irish debut, is Pininfarina's work.
Both new Alfas will be making their Irish debuts in June. Although the company claims a brand-new look, they are still unmistakeably Alfa, with the same wedge-shaped line and strongly raked windscreen of the predecessors. It still adds up to slender and dynamic looks. Very new are power units that emphasise the subtle aggression of the styling.
These new engines are the 165bhp 2.0 JTS and the 240bhp 3.2V6 24-valve: the latter does service in the awesome 156GTA. Alfa claims that a GTV equipped with this engine is, in fact, the fastest on-road car in their history, reaching 255 km/h or 158mph. You could gain a lot of points with this model, penalty points that is.
A safer and more appealing proposition is having the 2.0 JTS up front. JTS stands for Jet Thrust Stoichiometric, claimed to be a new and more efficient combustion system. It's the first petrol engine with injectors that work directly inside the combustion chamber.
The 2.0 JTS going into the Spider and GTV has a top speed of 215kph or 133mph. This engine was also a recent arrival to the 156 line-up. The third engine option is familiarly 156, also giving the GTV a top speed of 133mph, the Spider a couple of mph less, and both getting from from zero to 60mph in just over eight seconds.
The Spider that we drove with the 2.0 JTS engine was exhilarating. A driver immediately becomes aware of the quick response from the accelerator. The response is actually quickened by the direct introduction of petrol into the chamber, much faster than a conventional petrol engine. Better fuel consumption is another gain - Alfa says it should be around 10 per cent.
You sit lower now in the driving seat and that actually improves driving comfort. Not so comfortable are the rear seats of the GTV: small children would just about fit. On the Spider, the Alfa press release says the space behind the front seats is equipped to accommodate extra luggage that will not fit in the boot. A very small weekend bag is, in fact, the limit.
The same suspension layout of the old cars is carried over including multilink rear suspension. In driving, it brought exceptional precision, prompt approaches to bends and high stability.
On the Spider, the hood is a thing of beauty with steel and aluminium arches shaped to mould the upper edge of the windscreen. The hood which will open automatically on Irish spec cars, has two skins with the inner one soundproofing the passenger compartment. Automatic climate control is standard.
We don't know yet what Irish prices will be. Presumably they will be a good deal less than the prestigious BMW Z4, launched on the Irish market last week at ex works prices of €51,300 and €58,300 for the 2.5 and 3.0 litre versions respectively. The outgoing GTV and Spider prices run from €42,995 to €52,635.
Alfa Romeo is part of the troubled Fiat Auto group but the message from its bosses at the Pininfarina centre last week was upbeat. We met Alfa chairman Daniele Bandiera who spoke of a new product programme which will include an all-new replacement for the 156, a car that rescued Alfa from oblivion.
"Our base target is 200,000 cars a year but, of course, we want to sell more than that. The GTV and Spider begin a new model programme that will take off with the new 156 in 2005."
The good news too is that Alfa Romeo is online to go back into the US market from 2005. Time then for a new version of The Graduate.