$4,700
Alfa Romeo’s history is dominated by high performance open top cars, and has been since its 1910 start as Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili. From their very first 24 HP Torpedo through 6C SS, 8C Spider, P3 monoposto, 159 Alfetta, T33/3, etc., Alfa’s road and GP cars have been open topped.
Among all these open-top Alfa icons, one in particular stands out for its longevity and cultural impact.
Alfa Romeo’s history is dominated by high performance open top cars, and has been since its 1910 start as Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili. From their very first 24 HP Torpedo through 6C SS, 8C Spider, P3 monoposto, 159 Alfetta, T33/3, etc., Alfa’s road and GP cars have been open topped.
Among all these open-top Alfa icons, one in particular stands out for its longevity and cultural impact.
Though first seen a year earlier, it was the car’s cameo with Dustin Hoffman in 1967’s The Graduate which really cemented its popularity. By 1970 the Spider traded its boat tail for a Kamm tail, though production continued to be handled by Pininfarina, the same company responsible for styling, until 1990-1994’s final Series 4.
The auction example is a 1979 U.S. spec car believed to have spent some time in the U.K.
Simple, elegant silver over OEM Campagnolo turbina wheels is a great look, and the lack of a chunky rubber wing as added to later Series 3 cars really flatters the Pininfarina design’s semi-kamm tail. According to a factory tag, Grigio Metallico is the correct color.
The black convertible top shows signs of use, but overall appears to be holding up well, including the plastic rear window, which shows little opaqueness or yellowing.
A U.K. registration plate is affixed to the nose, and though the car is believed to have spent some time overseas (aside from when it was built!), the seller cannot confirm.
These cars proudly display their 1960s design roots in several ways, though perhaps nowhere as clearly as in the stylish, quirky cabin. Note the large, legible, and deeply cowled tach and speedometer, thin rimmed three-spoke wheel, and spindly, wand-like shifter emerging from the center console at something like a 45 degree angle.
Windows are wound manually, and a small parcel shelf resides behind the seats.
Power comes from a standard looking 2.0 liter, SPICA mechanically fuel-injected version of Alfa’s legendary and long-lived twin-cam four-cylinder.
Output was officially rated at 111 hp and 122 lb-ft for 1979, entirely adequate considering the engine’s willing, responsive nature, and light, roughly 1,110 kg car it’s tasked with moving.
This car is offered with limited historical documentation, including a Chicago metro area sales receipt from 1988 and more recent California registration.
Replaced with the heavier, longer, less elegantly styled Series 3 in 1982, these Series 2 cars mark a sweet spot between Series 1 boat tails at the top of the market and rubber tail examples near the bottom.
Tossable, revvy, compact, and timelessly stylish, they are unrivaled as summertime cruisers and beach cars.
