2007 Alfa Romeo Brera Spider will surface in Geneva

Brera-based Alfa Romeo Spider will surface in Geneva

The radically refreshed 4WD Alfa Romeo Brera Spider sports roadster will be officially presented at the 2006 Geneva motor show in March, 2006.

Alfa Spider, which is basically the 2006 Alfa Romeo Brera grand tourer with its glass roof removed and extra 60kg of dead weight added, is the direct descendant of the famous Giulietta Spider from 1950s and more modern Alfa Romeo Spider that was quite popular about a decade ago.

Family similarities aside, the roadster will be the first to have a Torsen all-wheels-drive technology, the one almost identical to the 4WD system employed in the Alfa Romeo 156 and the 159 models.

The Italian company says that the car will be 1830 mm wide, 4396 mm long and 1367 mm high, which makes it not that compact, after all. Compared it to its German rival, the 2007 Audi TT Roadster (Typ 8J), the 2007 Alfa Spider will be 218 mm longer and 15 mm higher, but 12 mm narrower.

Although looking cute and all that, the new spider has a significant problem that may seriously jeopardize its sales on the European market.

Sporting one of comparatively anemic 138kW 2.2-litre or a 195kW 3.2-litre JTS engines, the 2007 Alfa Spider seems to suck a great deal in comparison to the TT, which is equipped with either a 2.0-liter 147kW inline-four turbo or a 184kW 3.2-liter V6.

The two-seater’s four-pipe exhaust system does make it look hotter than hell but it won’t make the roadster much faster, will it?

Full specifications and prices to be available later.

Photos: Alfa Romeo