Summer Memories: Alfa Romeo Duetto vs 124 Spider Fiat

6 November 2015 Redazione Lifestyle, Vintage

By Francesco Fulchieri – Photo credits: Luigi Vetrucci

Today we are talking about 2 Italian cars. They are not truly new, not only considering their date of release but also because we separately talked about them in previous articles; however, today we want to compare these “Italian excellences” in “Vitadistile way”.

We decided to deal with this topic in order to celebrate the Italian tradition of sport cars. However, the type of sport models we are talking about is not linked to races, competitions and so on, but it is mostly connected to the pleasure of driving which contributes to speeding up with sufficient power the car design. Indeed these types of cars can be said to be hedonistic products, necessary for the collection of good living enthusiasts.

Still entering in the merits of the purpose of our article, the comparison, concerning the Spider, it has the capability to make the driver part of the car, creating, in that way, a sort of harmony not only between him and the vehicle but also with the external environment almost as if he were driving a motorcycle. For this reason, the Spider drive can be considered much more experiential than that of Coupe, since all the senses are completely involved.

Nevertheless, considering our rumbling convertible cars their charm is due to other factors. On one hand, we have the Alfa Romeo whose charm and notoriety is due to its elegant and glamourous design which has become over the years a “must have” for celebrities. Indeed, this version of car is still used in advertising campaigns devoted to perfumes or other products linked to “higher” lifestyles, showing that its past as “fashion icon” coincides also with the present. On the other hand, we have the Fiat with its “rasping” 4-cylinder engine, which is a double overhead cam. While the Alfa is” mellow”, the Fiat sound is “biting”: if the first one can be as melodic as R&B, the second one can be compared to Rock, but the kind of harsh and angry Rock which dates back to its era.

Moreover, the Alfa Duetto is also characterized by an exceptional manoeuvrability: when it moves it has a great grip on the road, at the outset you have to be confident but finally you will not be disappointed. We could witness its capability when we had to park near the pool and we did not spot any problem at all; while, these types of manoeuvres would be much more difficult concerning the 124 Spider.

An important factor, which would see (according to our personal experience) the Alfa “triumph” over the Fiat, is the steering, which is precise and transparent in the Alfa case. The only drawback is the Personal steering wheel: although beautiful and being an aesthetically important feature as interior design, it cannot equal the masterpiece of Hellebore belonging to previous versions.

Nevertheless, the Spider cannot be so easily “defeated” and one of its strongest points concerns the gearshift, which is short, “blunt” and precise. Instead, the Alfa gearshift is not so short (it is not so worrying news, also the coeval 911 shows the same feature). However, the endeavor consists in finding a model without a gearshift in bad conditions.

They are so similar but at the same time so different. They are similar considering different aspects: they are both Spider 2+2 and Italian and, considering these particular models, they have also similar colors. However, they can be though as placed at opposite poles concerning style and target. One has round and reassuring design while the other is pointy and aggressive (it inherits the design from the Corvetta Rondine prototype.

Nonetheless, whatever you will chose you will not be disappointed: they both are outstanding among the vintage cars and they have the capability to make you feel alive and making unforgettable and unique your journey.

However, the will of having fun is not anchored to the past; in fact also today there are cars that want to be “testimonials” of the most charming and traditional design… the sport Coupe cars.

We would like to thank Luana Sbalbi and the staff of Naxos Pontenure (location for the most part of the shots) for having made this possible.

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