ALFA ROMEO 1600 SPIDER
A Brief History
By Bob Simonds
IN MARCH OF 1966, Alfa Romeo introduced a new model called a 1600 Spider and it was publicly launched at the Geneva Motor Show on March 10, 1966. The 1600 Spider was the last project in which founder Battista Pininfarina was involved. The Design Director of Pininfarina at that time was Franco Martinengo.
To choose a name for the Spider, Alfa Romeo announced a write-in competition, offering an example of the new car as a prize. Over 100,000 ballots were sent in, the great majority from Italy. The winner was Guidobaldo Trionfi from Brescia, who proposed the name "Duetto" (duet). However, it could not be officially adopted due to trademark issues, and the car was named simply Alfa Romeo 1600 Spider.
Following his winning entry of “Duetto”, Guidobaldo was awarded a new 1966 white Alfa Romeo Duetto.
Although having been launched in 1966 as an Alfa Romeo 1600 Spider, it was never imported for sale in the U.S. The following year, 1967, Duettos did become available to American buyers. In 1966, Carello headlight covers were standard equipment, but in ’67 they were illegal in the U.S. and the headlights had thicker chrome rings surrounding the lights.
In 1982, I traded a 1979 Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce for a 1966 “Duetto” and paid $1.00 to make the transaction legal. My “Duetto” was originally purchased by a serviceman stationed in Italy and he imported the car to the U.S. in 1977. It has all European gauges and a 1600cc engine. When I bought the car, it had GTA racing magnesium wheels. In 1985 I replaced them with Dayton wire wheels which are in keeping with the bright work on the car. The picture below is of my “Duetto”.
In addition to the wire wheels, other aftermarket items include a vintage style radio/cassette player which is located in the center of the dash just below the three gauges. I also purchased a chrome decal that reads Duetto and is affixed on the glove box. I replaced the original leather steering wheel with a mahogany wood Nardi steering wheel and had a wood gear shift knob made to match. To cover a crack in the dash, I put a light gray suede dash mat on top. These items are shown below:
At the rear of the car, I added twin tailpipes in place of the single one and my license plate reads DUETTO!
Bob & Pauline Simonds are lonnnnnnnnng-time members of our New England chapter, but with a difference: They have been living in Tennessee for many, many years, yet still retain their AONE membership! You can contact them at 1966alfa@gmail.com.