Vehicle Description
1966 Alfa Romeo 1600 Spider Duetto
Early on, Enzo Ferrari made friends with Ugo Sivocchi who
eventually would make it possible for Ferrari to get behind the
wheel of a race car. Ferrari was impressive from the start, and
soon Alfa Romeo came calling for Ferrari to be their number 1
driver. Ferrari wasted no time calling his friend Sivocchi to join
him on what was a 4 driver team. Unfortunately, Sivocchi's luck was
low and just could not get a good finish for the team. He turned to
superstition and utilized the 4 leaf clover (Quadrifoglio) painted
within a white square to make it stand out better and each corner
represented a driver. It worked and Sivocchi won a race with the
Quadrifoglio emblazoned on the Alfa. The luck did not last though
as Sivocchi lost his life soon thereafter. Alfa changed the square
to a triangle with now only a 3 driver team, and the logo has been
used ever since. And that is the story behind the famous
Quadrifoglio!
Gather the Alfa tifozi and cue up the 1967 film "The Graduate", put
Benjamin Braddock behind the wheel and let's start this love affair
with our consignment, a 1966 Alfa Romeo 1600 Spider Duetto. A
wonderful example of this two seater convertible that has early
shades of the Miata when its designer was just a glimmer in his
father's eye! Here's to you Mrs. Robinson
Exterior
Alfa Red bathes wonderfully straight rust-free steel that is
sculpted into curvalicious lines. Upfront the iconic "trefoil
grille" nicely polished to perfection is flanked on either side by
dual wrap around front bumpers also showing nicely. Within the
space of those bumpers the turn signals are housed. Just above a
round inset headlight graces either front quarter. These sporty
headlights are encased in aero saving glass bubbles. Rounded steel
is reserved for the door sills and wrap under rockers. A chromed
frame covers the front glass. As we move to the boot, we see more
sculpted rounded steel with a pinched yet rounded look on either
rear quarter topped by a wraparound taillight, and split bumper
below with Euro oval plate in the center. A side view of this car
shows a black canvas top and if I was the owner, would never see
the light of day...mainly due to the wonderful lines when that
canvas is hidden. Drilled steel wheels with dish style center caps
are wrapped in nice rubber all around. Jesus loves you more that
you will know.
Interior
Slipping inside this black leather bomber style buckets interior I
grab on to the larger than life steering wheel which a performance
driver will appreciate due to no power steering. I stare at a
beautiful red dash with a dual round instrument cluster with a
black background, within a bumpup on steering wheel center, where I
have a clear view here of these nicely oversized rounds. Some
toggles and extra smaller round gauges all in perfectly functioning
order pepper the dash front. A sea of black carpet in clean fade
free condition floods the floors, and on the hump a log stalked
gearshift lever reaches for the driver. Door panels are sporting
beautifully preserved black leather with rounded panel edges in
shiny chrome bands adding a touch of class. A nice black boot
covers that top when down, and a shout to the trunk which has been
completely restored emblazoned in black like the cockpit.
Drivetrain
Flipping up the front hinged hood reveals a clean restored engine
bay, of course in Alfa Red, and shoehorned within is the peppy
1600cc 4 popper which is fed by 2 1-barrel Weber carbs. On the back
is a 5-speed manual transmission. A 4.55 rear axle takes the 107hp
to the rear tires.
Undercarriage
4 wheel disc brakes work all'unisono with independent coil sprung
suspension in front and a 3 link coil sprung suspension on back.
The undercarriage metal presents nice and rust free and red, a
black painted driveshaft runs the gamut, as well as a like new
exhaust system is noted.
Driveability
I signed out the car as Mr. Gladstone and began my love affair with
this wonderful mid 1960s sports car. She fired right up and on the
test track had the potential to be a super performer. My first test
is always the panic stop and this told me I cannot push it to its
potential as the brakes were a bit soft, and required the pressure
of an F1 car to really work as they should. Handling was on rails
and cornering was abbondanza, as I was able to scrub off speed with
little braking on our long curves. All was in perfecto working
order!
If you are into that great Italian look, two seater ragtop, stick
shifting, and a touch of class, come on down as this car is going
to fly off the shelf. Miss 1600 Spider Duetto you're trying to
seduce me, aren't you...that's amore.
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 650 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.
