Built from 1994 to 2005 Alfa Romeo the 916 series. Twenty-six years after its debut, I will be driving it for the first time. Anne Kramer gives me the key to a late one Alfa Romeo Spider 2.0 JTS from the 916 series, so with the longer grille. I'm on good terms with the Kramers, and I'm allowed to use the car for a few days. That's a nice prospect. Even knowing that I'm leaving my very nice Volvo for a few days. I will pick this up again in a few days, that is also a reassuring and very nice thought.
De Alfa is not in top cosmetic condition. But the car impresses. Still. That almost exotic line of this one Alfa means that at the end of the nineties I thought this car was one of the most beautiful of the time. I remember exactly where I found that. The owner of a ski shop in Champagny-en-Vanoise, France, drove the GTV, the closed version. “Nothing comes close to this,” I told my friends. They didn't understand it, they thought Alfa a strange case. Almost 24 years later, I still understand why this Pininfarina creation made an enchanting dance with my retina.
I step into the Alfa. It is very hot outside, but the roof remains closed. The electrically operated windows do go down. I start the engine and not much later I'm on my way. These are the first meters of some wonderful driving impressions. And they shine in full regalia on the winding back roads. As Anne already promised: the technology is top notch and the package of maintenance bills in the glove compartment explains why the technical condition is excellent.
Also this one Alfa puts a smile on your face from ear to ear. The way it reacts to a steering movement is phenomenal. Not kart-like, but direct, without delay and with a beautiful steering feel. The chassis and steering form a beautiful, fleshy whole. The chassis is also dynamic, it reacts quite immediately to any unevenness in the road surface. It never gets jerky, every movement is nicely damped and finished with a smooth, short spring travel.
The drivetrain is beautiful. Shifting is very reminiscent of the way you do that in a Giulia or a Bertone. The shifting distances are not short, but rapid shifting is no problem at all. Don't pull up rap either. The powerplant and transmission gear ratios are made for each other. The sound of the 2.0 JTS resembles that of the Nordmotors in the classic Alfas. When you close your eyes you imagine yourself in an old GTV, a Giulia or a Berlina. Alfa boasted a few years ago about the return of the DNA, they did it again recently with the launch of the Tonale. But in this Spider you feel what DNA means. This is a Alfa, it is very deep in the genes of this voluptuous Spider. And the hope that those genes will return in a next Spider can be cherished. Though this one is very, very vain.
It only increases the pleasure of driving this Spider. That liveliness, you feel it all the time. Regardless of cosmetic condition, pure enjoyment is blown in this powerful Spider, which also holds its own on the highway. Still, you want to drive inside, drive beautiful routes, continuously steer from course change to course change, switch back, swing. You want to get the most out of that beautifully balanced chassis. You want that delicious Alfahear sound. And you want to drive every second with this car.
, You look around. And feel happy behind the wheel. Even though this one has Alfa its scratches. Even though this Spider is just a bit too low for the beautiful, even lower than the pre-facelift copies. Even though all the clocks in the driver's instrumentation are separated by reflective glass. Those objections are completely dwarfed by the endless driving pleasure that these Alfa offers. The imperfections mean that the pure driving qualities emotionally emerge even more strongly.
Last year I noticed it for a weekend in Frans de Groot's Giulia 1300 Super. And now I notice it again. Driving can be beautiful. And ride in one Alfa Romeo is pretty. By definition.
Beautifully written again, Erik! Yes, of course there are still cars that drive well and look good, but at one Alfa the chance that he really drives, and not just provides a displacement, is very high. Of course the looks are part of it! I have two of those spiders myself. One green prefacelift, a 2.0 TS from '95 (Nice, typical “hollow” sound, better than the later versions due to the different placement of the catalytic converter.) and a black V6 3.0 24V from 2002. A Busso. I have "chance" that as a garage owner I can drive those cars with my garage plates. They are dessert cars, perhaps too impractical as daily transport. (Including the doors that swing wide open… which really have to open wide to get in/out.) As a child I feared that I wouldn't be able to drive a car due to the rising fuel prices… fortunately it turned out differently… cars are an important part of m a life. How long it will last is a question, all the more reason to enjoy it "now" to the fullest!