Car of the Day - Alfa Romeo 8C Spider

Car of the Day - Alfa Romeo 8C Spider

See related Car of the Day - Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione HERE

Alfa Romeo has not only built one of the most beautiful sportscars ever, they have provided a lucky 500 devote clients with a no brainer blue chip investment. When you join the term 8c with the evocative Italian term “Spider” and you add DNA from Maserati which has already been cross-pollinated with Ferrai DNA you should get and in this case do - something very special. It is both an instant classic and a car to be coveted by thousands of people who were not in a position to get one the first time round. Will these cars ever depreciate - I doubt it.

The Alfa engineers and designers have not only been able to produce a car of equal beauty to the coupe - they have, with the benefit of hindsight and feedback managed to fine tune and improve the dynamics of the car. Loosing the stunning lines of the roof could have been a disaster, however the Spider gets a new beauty all of it’s own.

Alfa dropped the “Competizione” moniker and have also very slightly softened the ride to provide an even more enjoyable daily experience. To ensure enough rigidity and torsional strength with the removal of the carbon-fibre egg that completed the circle between the A and B pillars they have added additional steel to the frame around the front suspension and the underbody. Additionally the new windscreen frame is made from extra strong reinforced carbon-fibre to provide extra strength and roll-over protection. The total weight added by the addition of the softtop, its mechanicals and the steel underbody bracing is 90kg.

Mechanicals remain identical to the coupe however the Spider does receive CCM brakes as standard.

The convertible top is logically of the soft variety rather than a metal or carbon-fibre folding one which would have both added wait and probably not had as much traditional appeal for this style of car. The top itself is made of a strong multi-thread textile and the interior lining utilises a material which has high sound-proofing qualities. More reason to leave it down. Control is via a dash button which enacts the electro-hydraulic system to control the specially developed reels which provide a quick and quiet function.

With the roof down the full beauty of the interior design is exposed for the world to see. With the degree of interior customisation available the likelihood of ever seeing two cars with the same combination will be very small.

Alfa have built the perfect Halo car with the 8c and the marque is back in the minds of enthusiasts. With just 1000 examples of the 8c between the Competizione and the Spider you have to wonder how many actual owners that equates to - just how many people were greedy (lucky) enough to be able to purchase both.

Rod Halligan

See related Car of the Day - Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione HERE