26 Jun 06
And the 2.2? This is Alfa's balancer-shaft, direct-injection four-cylinder, featuring 185bhp and driving the front wheels only. And in the particular Spider I'm driving along this part of the Sicilian coast, it's the crispest, torquiest, best-mannered example of this new engine I've yet tried.
In the early Brera I drove a few months ago it felt flat on large throttle openings; in the 159 Sportwagon driven recently it had a hole in the power delivery just above idle speed. This one is just right - except that given the Spider's considerable weight (1,530kg, or 1,690kg for the V6 Q4) it's not particularly quick. Max speed is 135mph, 62mph comes up in an unexciting 8.8 seconds. But it sounds good and Alfa-ish, and its six-speed gearbox has a light, quick and delightfully mechanical-feeling shift.
Sad to say, though, that slight structural wobble has bigger consequences in the 2.2. It feels nervous: the front wheels follow ruts and tug the nose gently this way and that under acceleration, as if the rear end is steering the front as the body twists. The Vauxhall Astra TwinTop does this, too, so it's far from being a unique Alfa affliction, but the four-wheel drive Spider does not.
There it is, then. The Spider V6 Q4 is - just - a credible sports car, thanks to pace, sound and handling balance. The Spider 2.2 JTS is simply a two-seater convertible which happens to look exactly the same. So, style or style-plus-substance?
Maybe the price will help you decide. The premium over the Brera is likely to be about £1,400 when the Spider goes on sale here in January 2007 in its two trim levels, which suggests prices ranging from £24,200 to £31,250.
I can't help thinking a Nissan 350Z Roadster - 300 bhp V6 engine, rear-wheel drive, impressively rigid body, priced from £27,845 - has suddenly got very tempting.
