1967 Alfa Romeo 1600 Spider: Everyone Should Own At Least One Alfa; Maybe This "Duetto" Is For You

Jeremy Clarkson has said that you can’t be a “petrolhead” unless you’ve owned an Alfa Romeo. Obviously, that’s an exaggeration (I’m as much a gearhead as anyone), but I’m finding myself more and more inclined to take his advice. I’ve been tempted by a lot of Alfa Romeo Spiders lately, namely the “Duetto,” and this example is up for auction on Hagerty Marketplace in Marion, New York. It’s been owned by the same person for 40 years, and I for one will be watching the auction with an itchy bidding finger.

Rear view of white 1973 Alfa Romeo Spider — 1973 Alfa Romeo 2000 Spider Veloce/Bring a Trailer

So what’s the draw of the “Duetto?” Obviously, it’s that rounded tail, although one might argue that the “Kamm” tail, introduced for 1970 and shown above on a 1973 Spider, is at least as successful a design. This is, after all, the Spider that most casual fans are familiar with, and the taller, squared-off luggage compartment apparently increased trunk space over the earlier cars.

But I can’t help but prefer that beautiful curved tail and those marginal-looking taillights; the slope of the trunk alone is so graceful that I could stare at it for days. A word must be said about the name “Duetto”: although the name was chosen from some 100,000 entries in a naming contest, Alfa Romeo couldn’t use it because it was trademarked by another company. Therefore, the car simply became the Alfa Romeo 1600 Spider (but a lot of people call it the Duetto anyway).

Side note: The dealer, “Madison Smith,” whose badge appears to the left of the license plate nacelle, sold European cars in Nashville in the 1960s, so the car is clearly not originally from the snowy, salty North.

Little needs to be repeated about the Alfa twin-cam four; people have waxed poetic about the sound and the look since the 1950s, but in the 1967 Spider, the gorgeous little four displaced 1570cc and produced 108 horsepower, being fed through dual sidedraft Weber carburetors. This car has been upgraded with an electronic ignition system, Koni shocks, and an aftermarket ATE front disc brakes setup (all Duettos, however, did come from the factory with four-wheel discs).

The interior is nearly as timeless as the Pininfarina-penned body, and the large hooded gauge binnacles and center-mounted auxiliary gauges were Spider features all the way up through the end of the line in 1994, as was the tall, forward-mounted shift lever that stirred a five-speed manual transmission. The Nardi steering wheel and wood shift knob are aftermarket accessories, and the upholstery and convertible top have been replaced.

It makes sense that the “Coda Tronca” Series 2 Spiders would have improved trunk space, if for no other reason than the height of the trunk lid, but this is a roomy luggage compartment for a sports car. All Spiders are prone to rust to some extent, but the seller has posted a few undercarriage photos that look solid.

But it’s that styling that’s the real draw, with this profile pose showing off that magical rear end. Decent Duettos sell for $20,000 and up, but this car has “cosmetic imperfections consistent with age,” so maybe this one will fall into my price range. Even a gearhead like me has to own an Alfa at least once in his life, right?

P.S. Somehow, the Alfa has already been bid up to $25,000. So much for that.