1992 Alfa Romeo Spider S4

The Market is offering here a superb example of the S4 Spider converted to right-hand-drive.

‘It’s a lovely car,’ says vendor David. ‘It drives great, handling beautifully and that twin-cam engine has some real poke to it. With electric windows and power steering it really does feel like a modern car and on classic car insurance I only pay £80 a year to cover it.’

David also owns a couple of MGAs, a Maserati Spider and a has just bought an Austin Healey, so the Alfa is being sold to consolidate his collection. It’ll also come with valuable ‘J6 SPY’ private number plate, which he believes is worth around £1.5k. 

‘I’ve just had the gearbox rebuilt by an ex-Cosworth engineer,’ he explains. ‘They’re renowned for 2nd gear synchromesh problems when worn, but this one all done and ready to go. It was a little tight initially, but it’s starting to loosen up nicely and has a really pleasant action.’

The included V5 indicates five former owners and the stamped service book shows that the majority of the tachometer’s 144,670 km were covered earlier in the car’s history. 

This S4 is located at The Market headquarters in Abingdon, so as with all our lots we recommend hitting the ‘contact seller’ button to arrange a view and test drive – plus, the kettle’s always on!  

To our eyes the silver paintwork really suits the S4’s lines, lending it a distinctly classy air. It remains in excellent condition, with barely a blemish to be found. All swage lines line up nicely and panels are both dint and dent free, while the plastic on the full-width rear taillight hasn’t faded and retains a high-degree of its original colour.     

‘It is in top condition,’ says David. ‘I’d actually put it right at the top of the league. The bodywork is damn near immaculate, and I can’t fault her. The quality of the anti-rust stuff Alfa used at this time can be seen under the petrol cap, where it’s very well protected.’ 

Indeed for this generation of Spider, Alfa used better quality steel and took corrosion protection to another level with front wheel arch liners fitted, wax injection and hard wearing under body coverings used. As such, they’re much hardier in terms of rust resistance than earlier variants. 

Come this generation there’s a lot less chrome, but what remains – windscreen surround, window and hood frames – is in very good condition; though the door handles have some very light pitting. 

Up top the replacement mohair hood is only around 9 years old and is still very good, with a taught fit, excellent stitching and a clear and crack-free Perspex rear window. 

The alloys were recently refurbished and are still unmarked, while each tyre has plenty of tread remaining. The spare wheel is present, but wasn’t refurbed and is still shod in its original Pirelli P6000 rubber.

Perhaps the only thing we’d do is lose the centrally mounted number plate, in order to free up the radiator grill. It’d be purely for aesthetics, as we think Alfas are the one marque that always looks funkier with a side-mounted plate.  

The cabin is a far cry from the chrome and wood of earlier Spiders. Instead there’s a mixture of modern plastics (which remain in good condition) and switchgear, but it’s well done and has a pleasing ambience. 

A previous owner recently added a pair of Classic Alfa suede and leatherette seat covers and these lift the cabin, with the black and tan colour scheme completing the exterior nicely. They remain scuff free with no sign of any nicks.  

There’s relatively little wear and tear in general, and the seating position with canted gear lever to hand is pure Alfa. Carpets and door cards are good, and the roof mechanism lowers and whips up easily. There is also a high-spec Blaupunkt hifi system.

Lifting each carpet reveals fresh, rust free metal.   

David says that the underside of the car is as clean as the exterior and we can confirm that, as it presents very well indeed, with lots of solid, well-protected metal. 

There’s a touch of surface corrosion on some of the suspension components. This could be easily tidied up with a wire brush and a bit of elbow grease, and re-painted, or left as is.

The twin-cam engine fires easily and settles into an even tick over; performance is zesty, and we can confirm David’s opinion of how it drives as it feels like a tight and very well sorted example indeed. And second gear works perfectly!!

Whoever buys this is going to get a very nice car. 

Whenever we see a well-organised history file it does get us rubbing our trousers somewhat. A wealth of information housed in a plastic wallet endowed ring binder, and logged in chronological order, makes a car’s history abundantly clear for anyone to see and is always a welcome sight.

David’s S4 comes with just such a folder and it’s impressive. There are a range of MOT certificates including a recently completed one, which expires in July 2020. It failed initially due to ‘brake efficiency below requirements’, but restorative works saw it subsequently pass with flying colours.

Also enclosed inside are a huge number of invoices for work carried out at a number of model specific specialists; these range from Lombarda Carriage Company of West London, which originally supplied the car and looked after until around 2003, to Alfa Aid of Berkshire and in more recent years Avanti Autos in Suffolk. 

In addition to the rebuilt gearbox key work carried out more recently includes fitment of a new E.B. Spares supplied hood (£346.62) and Classic Alfa supplied tan leather seat covers (£302.40), both in 2010. New Continental 195/60X15 tyres (£260) were fitted in April 2016, with a fresh brake master cylinder (£45) the following month, as well as new shock absorbers and springs (£609.60). The 16” alloy wheels were also refurbished towards the end of that year at a cost of £288.  

Other items present include the original service book, with plenty of stamps present within and an electrical system guidebook – the latter no bad thing on an Italian classic (okay, on any classic!). 

The receipt for the gearbox rebuild (which cost £1350) isn’t in the history file yet, but David is chasing it up and it will be present at sale. At the same time the Spider received a mini service, MOT and had the catalytic converter replaced.

(UPDATE Receipt for gearbox rebuild is now included in the listing) 

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to the very highest standard.

If writing about a house we’d be saying ‘location, location, location’, but as it’s a classic Alfa it’s a case of ‘bodywork, bodywork, bodywork’. As with most classic cars this is the key area, as it’s where most expense for restorative work lies. The photo gallery below shows that with this example that’s simply not a concern. Panels, sills, door shuts, valances et al are all tip-top, while it appears just as good underneath. 

Factor in strong mechanicals, a rebuilt gearbox (taking the model’s Achilles heel out of the equation), refurbed wheels, new-ish tyres and a relatively fresh hood and for us it really is a no brainer – you could spend a hell of a lot on a scruffier example just to get it to this standard. 

We think this car will sell for between £9000 and £12,000 which given the condition and driving experience on offer is not a lot at all. If you take a glance at the classifieds you’ll see that’s very competitively priced, and even more so when you consider the private number plate included in the sale. 

Viewing is always encouraged, and as stated this car is located at our Abingdon headquarters; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.