Turin - The good news for fans of the iconic Alfa Romeo Spider (also known in some places as the ‘Duetto’) is that the Italian brand’s new leader is super keen to do a modern recreation, but the bad news is that it probably won’t happen any time soon.
Alfa Romeo CEO CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato spoke of the need for new dream cars in an interview with Autocar recently.
“If I bring a good level of business, I’m sure that Carlos Tavares (Stellantis CEO) and I will one day speak about some dream cars, because I have to support the storytelling of Alfa Romeo in the future. It’s not for tomorrow, but I would love to have a Duetto one day,” Imparto said.
He also told the British publication that the company was working on some new one-off and few-off projects.
“I cannot present anything concrete for now, but I can tell you that I do not forget our past and our passion. I am focusing on the business and the elephant in the room is electrification. We have to have the right priorities on the table but at the same time, we are working in parallel on these projects.”
If Alfa Romeo does ever revive the Spider, it would likely be an electric model. While the Italian brand plans to launch a new model every year until 2026, from 2027 onwards it will only launch electric cars.
The original Alfa Romeo Spider, built between 1966 and 1993, remains an automotive icon.
Other Alfa Romeo drop-tops have carried the Spider name since then, but none have quite matched the essence of the original. The last Alfa Romeos to wear the Spider badge were the Brera-based model of 2006 and the more recent 8C Spider.
Alfa Romeo also came close to reviving the GTV in recent times, with a coupe model based on the rear-wheel drive Giulia sedan, but these plans were apparently shelved in 2019 as the company cut back on spending to prioritise products for the electric era.
The new GTV was meant to have been launched in 2022, featuring a hybrid drivetrain with more than 440kW and all-wheel drive.