Alfa Romeo Spider (the Italian Miata) to Make 168-HP
Much like the new Alfa Romeo 4C, the upcoming Alfa Romeo Spider will sport a contemporary design paired with a lightweight body when it hits the market in late 2015.
The Alfa Romeo Spider will be the Italian automaker’s version of the sports car it is jointly working on with Mazda. That means it will be built on the next-generation Mazda MX-5 platform and will be manufactured in Japan. As for its styling, it’s close to being signed off and is designed by Marco Tencone, chief designer at Alfa Romeo and Maserati.
SEE ALSO: Alfa Romeo 4C to Inspire Future Models
Tencone is also responsible for the Alfa Romeo 4C’s styling, so it’s expected that the Alfa Romeo Spider will be similar in terms of being contemporary in design and not retro. It’s worth noting that Pininfarina, which designed the 2010 Duettotanta concept is not involved with the Spider’s design. The car is expected to be about 13-feet long and 5.5-feet wide and will be lightweight at around 2,400 pounds.
As for what will lurk under the hood, the Alfa Romeo Spider is expected to have the same 1.4-liter TB MultiAir engine found in the Giulietta, but the more powerful 168 horsepower variant. It will be mated to a six-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission.
[Source: Autocar UK]
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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Let me see, Alfa Romeo is the hot girl who promises a good time but never delivers. Good thing I have the '88, Spider Veloce while the world waits for more empty promises. I believe Alfa is dead, or at least just barely alive. Fidel Castro continues to live in spite of no one seeing him running around. Alfa Romeo, at its less than one half of one percent market share, pretends to be alive...somewhere.
I just cant get it. At least I hope this information is incomplete. Why to develop a new(?) engine for the 4c and then not use it in the spider. Dont get me wrong, 120 or 168hp are fine as standard-engines, but nowadays there has to be an option engine with 200+ hp. By the way, remember Chris Bangle's quote that the MiTo looks like a squirrel that was kicked in the balls? Same goes for the 4c. Shame on Alfa to have ignored the Duettottanta-design. If the new Spider looks like the MiTo and 4c, then they can put in whichever engine they want. I go for the MX5 then. Or a used Honda S2000. I hope Im wrong.