The first of the Alfa Romeo spiders were released in 1966, introduced at the 36th Geneva Motor Show and came with a 1576cc twin-cam engine upon release that had 92bhp. After a public vote by means of a competition and one hundred thousand ballots, Alfa Romeo chose the name "Duetto", meaning duet. However, it was reconsidered due to copyright reasons and they eventually named it the Spider.

It was designed by the well-known Italian design firm and coachbuilder Pininfarina, famous for designing many vehicles for brands such as Ferrari, Lancia, Peugeot and Alfa Romeo themselves.

They have taken inspiration from their previous design studies and concept cars such as the Superflow and Superflow II concepts that were created prior to the official production model. The chassis was based on Alfa Romeo’s Giulia 105-series that was adapted for the Spider as well as other models such as the GT/GTV Bertone coupes. It was featured in the 1967 Dustin Hoffman film called The Graduate and has gained a well-known following since.

The series of Alfa Romeo’s 1750 models followed in 1967 and are almost visually identical to the earlier “Duetto” models. It had the new 1779cc engine with twin carburetors that was also powering the Berlina, the GT Veloce Coupe and now the Spider and is paired to a 5-speed manual gearbox. The “boat tail” nickname was given to the spider to differentiate it to the later “Kamm tail” Series 2. It was also given the nickname “Osso di Deppia” which is Italian for cuttlefish bone.

This example is showing 8177km on the clock (probably covered 108177km) and the chassis and engine numbers are in the correct sequence for a 1967 Left hand drive 1750 Spider.

It has recently had an extensive restoration:

• Stripped to bare metal
• Floor panels replaced
• Repainted silver instead of the original Ivory that it left the factory in
• A full engine rebuild was completed by respected Alfa Romeo specialist Auto Azzurri
  • New pistons
  • New rings
  • New sleeves
  • Crank recut
  • Gearbox rebuilt
• Crossley & Webb recently attended to some minor electrical snags and fitted new tyres and wheel bearings as part of our pre-auction preparation

The 1750 "Boat tail" Spider is one of the most beautiful classic sportscars and with the 1750 Twin cam engine and five speed gearbox providing a spirited driving experience.

Examples that have been through a thorough restoration such as this one are rare, and it is ready for a springtime road trip

For more details contact Gareth or Jeremy at (021) 462 3558 - e-mail: info@crossley-webb.com