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Most people have a wildly rose-tinted impression of the Alfa Romeo spider. By which we mean California circa 1965, Simon and Garfunkel on a perpetual loop and Anne Bancroft smoking on the other side of the bed. Naked. But the reality is appreciably less attractive than The Graduate has allowed us to believe.

Spider production has rolled on for many decades, the cars gaining weight and cosmetic adornments faster than Dustin Hoffman himself, while the memory of the petite and ageless original has lingered as happily and unshakeably as Mrs Robinson's tan line.

So there's a solid foundation for Alfa's attempts at a new two-seat drop-top. But it doesn't guarantee success. The Nineties witnessed an ambitious but ultimately unpopular attempt to reinvent the model, with bold, angular styling upended by poor ergonomics and shocking quality. So Alfa Romeo knows this latest spider needs to be a sizeable stride on from all that.

Basing it on the Brera coupe we drove last month seems like a reasonable place to start. This means the spider gets the recently bolstered Alfa build quality - as yet unproven, but the signs are good - and the ready availability of the JTS petrol engines. For the moment, this means a 188bhp 2.2-litre four cylinder unit, selling alongside the flagship 260bhp V6.

On top of that, the Brera's platform will also allow for the inclusion of Q4 four-wheel drive on the v6, improving traction and safety. But the chop-top restyling was more of an issue.

The love-it-or-leave it looks of the Brera are down to Giugiaro, but responsibility for the spider has fallen to Pininfarina, who, on top of simply styling the spider, has also been tasked with building both cars side by side.

The design house was keen to evoke the spirit of Dustin's original boat-tailed duetto spider, capturing the elegance and lightness considered synonymous with that model. This intent is best reflected, according to Pinifarina, in the rounded rear treatment, which has gone from resembling a boat to the tailfin of a fish. Apparently.

But you also see it in the car's narrow waistline, juxtaposed here with a strong contemporary element in those aggressively flared wheelarches and multi-spoke alloys. In keeping with the rest of the range though, Alfa's recently revised front end remains. This means the spider still gets the latest triple-lens headlights and shield-shaped grille you see on both Brera and 159.

The interior has been given the Pinifarina treatment too. Much of the design will be familiar to anyone who's had a squint at a 159.

The cockpit-style centre console remains, with its deeply recessed auxiliary instruments angled towards the driver. But there are more subtle, almost subconscious, sporting messages cropping up all around the cabin. There's fairly simple stuff like a ribbed trim that's visible on the armrest and door panels.

Then there's more cunning ideas like the seat backs; these are broken up by contrasting stripes that are intended to emanate the presence of a four-point racing harness. And it sort of works. Then there's the seat squab with its tubular finish the designers liken to cannelloni. We're not sure what the message is there, but it's all very Italian. Pininfarina, are you trying to seduce me?

Matt Master


Read Alfa Romeo Spider Car Review

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