Let’s go back in time to the year 1994, when Alfa Romeo launches a new Spider, alongside a GTV coupé, which surprises Alfisti because it sports an unusual design and is equipped with front-wheel drive.
Like the GTV, the Spider is based on the in-house platform Type Two of the Fiat Group and is therefore related to the Fiat Tipo. They were initially built by Alfa Romeo in Arese and then by Pininfarina in Turin.
Despite an uncertain start, today, 30 years later, these Alfas have a solid fan base. Let’s get to know them better by retracing their history.
Seven years of development
After the acquisition by Fiat in the autumn of 1986, Vittorio Ghidellahead of Fiat’s car division, is trying to make the Biscione brand more attractive with new models. In the spring of 1987 he decided to develop a completely new Spider and a sports coupé to replace the Alfetta GTV based on Fiat’s Tipo-Due platform.
Fiat commissions the Bertone and Pininfarina studios of Turin to draw up design drafts and ultimately decides in favor of Pininfarina. The basic designs were completed in September 1987 and in July 1988 – a few months before leaving the company – Ghidella approved the design of the Spider and Coupé based on a 1:1 scale clay model.
Photo by: Photo: Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Protèo (1991)
However, the development of the new twin models, known as Type 916takes several years and, in the meantime, at the end of 1989 Alfa Romeo reworks the classic Spider (Type 115) for the third time.
Shortly after the introduction of this fourth version of the Spider 115the company presents at the Geneva Motor Show 1991 la show car Protectiondesigned by the Alfa Romeo Style Center under the guidance of Walter Silva. Its main feature is the transparent roof that can be completely stowed behind the seats, transforming the coupe into a bold Spider.
Furthermore, unlike the subsequent 916 series, the Protèo is based on the shortened chassis of theAlfa Romeo 164 and features the model’s top-of-the-range engine, a 3.0-liter V6 with an increased output of 191 kW (260 hp). The technical data sheet is completed by all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and electrically adjustable shock absorbers. An important note: the color of the show car, a particularly bright metallic shade called “Protèo Red”, is officially offered for a certain period on the production car.
The debut in Paris
L’Alfa Romeo Spider 916 debuts together with her sister GTV at the Paris Motor Show in October 1994. Series production began at the end of 1994 and lasted until 2004, during which time three series of the Type 916 were created, unofficially known as Phase 1 (1993-1998), Phase 2 (1998-2003) and Phase 3 (2003-2004).
Phase 3 is the rarest series, with a technical basis dating back almost 20 years, it is obsolete and intended to fill the gap until series production of an entirely new Spider, known internally as Type 939based on the 159 and which will debut in the summer of 2006.
Photo by: Photo: Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Spider (916, 1994)
The bodywork of the Spider 916 is generally described as cuneiform. This impression is created mainly by a curb on the sides of the car, which starts from the front wheel arch and rises sharply from there to the end of the roof. The corrugation is an idea that Pininfarina had already implemented on the Quattro Quartz (and also on the Alfa 164); there, however, it ran horizontally. The Spider’s beltline follows the line of the skirt and the same applies to the junction between the rear wing and the rear bumper.
The large one-piece hood is made of plastica material that was chosen primarily for its ease of processing. It protrudes far into the sides of the car and leaves two circular openings for the headlights on each side at the front. The headlights are permanently mounted and do not rotate upwards when the hood is opened. The Alfa Romeo shield is positioned in the center of the bonnet, protruding into the bumper at the bottom.
Photo by: Photo: Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo GTV (916, 1994)
Like the GTV, also the Spider It has no handles of shaped doors. In their place there is a button in the door for unlocking and a recess in the side trim where you can insert a finger to open the unlocked door.
Unlike the GTV, which has a tear-off edge, the Spider’s boot lid slopes towards the rear, where there is a narrow light strip which extends across the entire width of the car and contains the direction indicators, brake lights, rear lights, reversing lights and rear fog lights.
The controversial front-wheel drive
All versions of the Spider 916 have transversely mounted engines at the front, which drive the front wheels via a manual gearbox. The Spider’s front-wheel drive design is a direct consequence of the Type 916 being derived from the Type-Two platform. It’s one break with tradition: all previous Spiders, as well as the Giulia and Giulietta, had rear-wheel drive.
Reorientation comes initially criticized by the contemporary press, which fears a loss of driving pleasure. However, the traction technology is generally considered a success and the chassis is described as “well balanced”.
Photo by: Photo: Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Spider and GTV (916, 1994-2004)
Alfa Romeo offers various four- and six-cylinder petrol engines for the Spider. The basic engine is a four-cylinder in-line with double ignition (Twin Spark) from the Pratola-Serra series by Fiat. The cylinder head is an Alfa Romeo project. The engine features dual overhead camshafts with variable intake valve timing.
A 2.0-liter version of this engine equipped with is available throughout the production period two balancer shafts (2.0 TS), with a power of 110 kW (150 HP) in the first series and 114 kW (155 HP) in cars built from May 1998 onwards. At the beginning of the second series, from 1998 to 2000, it was also available a smaller version with a displacement of 1.8 liters and an output of 106 kW (144 hp), which does not have balancer shafts. (1.8 TS).
Photo by: Photo: Alfa Romeo
With the introduction of the third series of the Spider in 2003, an a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder with direct petrol injection (2.0 JTS). Unlike twin-spark engines, it has only one spark plug per cylinder and an output of 122 kW (166 hp).
The V6 from Arese as the highlight under the bonnet
The top engine of the range is represented by different versions of the Alfa Romeo V6, based on a design by Giuseppe Busso. The Busso or Arese engine has a bank angle of 60 degrees and an aluminum cylinder block. In the first series and the first models of the second series, a version with 3.0 liters, one overhead camshaft per bank and two valves per cylinder is used, producing 141 kW (192 hp).
Since 2000, there is a version of the same size with two overhead camshafts per bank and four valves per cylinder (3.0 V6 24V), which has been the top of the range engine in the Alfa Romeo 164 since 1993 and is available in the Type-916-GTV since July 1996. The engine power of this variant is 160 kW (218 CV).
Photo by: Photo: Alfa Romeo
The legendary Arese V6 from Alfa Romeo
With the introduction of the third model series in 2003, Alfa Romeo added a version of the six-cylinder engine with increased displacement of 3.2 liters and 176 kW (240 CV), which replaces the 3.0-liter version in most markets.
A special Turbo for Italy
Il 2.0 V6 Turbooffered mainly on the Italian market for the Spider from 1995 to 2000, occupies a special position. This is a version of the Busso six-cylinder engine with a reduced displacement of 1,996 cc, equipped with a turbocharger to increase performance and an output of 147 kW (200 CV). In most cases, power transmission is entrusted to a five-speed manual gearbox (only the 3.0 V6 24 and the 3.2 V6 24 have a six-speed gearbox).
In 2004 the career ends with 38,891 Spider Type 916 produced.
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Source: it.motor1.com
