Fridae

Anyone looking to own a new sporty cabriolet is likely to look at what's on offer by Audi, BMW and Mercedes Benz which are expected to sell four million cars in total this year. The other options in this segment are Swedish offerings in likes of Saab and Volvo, Japanese upstarts Infiniti and Lexus, and lastly from the Italians; Alfa Romeo.

With sales hovering beneath 200,000 per year in worldwide sales, Alfa Romeos are certainly a rare and welcome sight on our roads, especially when the car in mind is the stylish Alfa Romeo Spider.

The Alfa Romeo Spider brought the world to their knees during its debut at the Geneva Motor show in 2006. Lo and behold, the famous front V-shaped grill is flanked by a pair of taut shoulders across the bonnet that continues throughout the compact body which ends with a smooth round perky end, not unlike a Japanese porn star's rear packed in ultra tight speedos. The quad exhaust pipes further teases me with the chrome wrapped neatly within the bumper; it's of little wonder that I suddenly turned funny all over!

Open the frameless doors to be greeted by a driver-orientated interior with all the dials angled towards the driver. The exquisitely crafted interior is highlighted by its fabulous leather ripples and aluminum inserts along the central console and door grabs.

Our black test car came with a red coloured leather interior - a stunning combination. The Spider is a two-seater, doing away with the tight rear accommodations offered on the Brera (coupe version). Wise move, as there is a pair of useful storage bins rather than fitting in rear seats where only passengers in a lotus position (without the room to stretch your legs) can be accommodated.

Alfa Romeo is so serious about challenging the German giants that they've even hired an ex-BMW man, Frank Stephenson to eradicate all previous interior ergonomics and quality problems that are so closely associated with most previous Alfa Romeo models.

Thanks Frank for the superb makeover - given that I am not tall and every control falls into my hands easily! Just as important, the Spider has full I-pod connectivity, horror of all horrors; this is the first test car I have driven to have this as standard!

As beautiful as it might be, it must be said that the Spider is not exactly an ace in the road-handling department partly due to its highish kerb weight. Losing plenty of structural rigidity with its roof sawn off does not help here! Do not be mistaken that the Spider is short changed in the suspension components; the front has high double wishbone suspension and a Multilink system at the rear. The Spider's steering is very quick and accurate yet it feels slightly reluctant in switching directions as the steering becomes unnecessarily heavy. The Spider's grip is in abundance for the front wheel drive only on the 2.2; however shuttle shakes can be felt over the worst road surfaces. True, the Alfa is not terribly impressive to drive; but the ride is compliant enough for me to suggest that this is a cruiser, the best looking cruiser in the world for this price, no less!

Achingly gorgeous looks backed by the beautiful exhaust note and engine rasp; the Alfa has the most amazing soundtrack this side of a Ferrari. They come in either a 2.2 litre 4-cylinder or a 3.2 litre V6 engine. The 2.2 comes with either a manual gearbox or an automated manual gearbox dubbed the selespeed with 6-gears. I don't really fancy the selespeed on the 2.2 JTS which I had test driven. Improvements have been made to the selespeed since its introduction on the 156 in 1997, however for the best experience; I reckon a manual gearbox with either engine is a must or the smooth shifting automatic gearbox on the 3.2 litre V6 for the die hard one-foot drivers! The 3.2 litre which I tried (on the Brera) comes with a proper five-speed automatic gearbox. 0-100km/h takes a rather long 8.8 seconds on the Spider 2.2 selespeed. Go for the lovely 3.2 V6 engine if you are as impatient as I am.

Noting all the attention the car has attracted during a recent test drive (And it's not my newly bleached blonde hair, I swear!) - the Spider is not for the introvert types! You will need to make sure you look fabulous, especially with its roof down! Onlookers will be able to hear the roars from the car and will be gorging at the Pininfarina lines with zest! Stop trying to convince yourself that the aging BMW Z4 will eventually look good. The Alfa Romeo Spider will fit the bill as your new executive sporty convertible with exclusivity to boot!

Max. power

	Alfa Romeo
Model	Spider 2.2 JTS Convertible
Engine	2,198 cc 4 cylinder 16V, DOHC
Transmission	6-Speed Selespeed (Automated Manual)
185 HP @ 6500rpm
Max. torque	230 NM @ 4500 rpm
Acceleration 0-100 km/h	8.8 secs
Top speed	222 km/h
Fuel consumption (combined)	7.9 L/100km
CO2 emissions	221 g/km
Dimensions (L x W x H) /Weight	439cm x183cm x131cm / 1530 kg
Price with COE*	$183,800

*Prices quoted are indicative of prices in Singapore. Please contact your local distributor for prices in your country.

*You need to know!

Alfa Romeo’s intentions to make a return to the United States has been delayed; probably its time they need to establish new dealerships, tune their engines for the California emission laws and lastly to place cup-holders in their cars. The count for cup holders in the Spider is zero! While American car buyers may be discouraged by the lack of cup-holders to hold their super super big Gulp, I have been wondering if this is the Italians’ way of preventing drivers from eating or drinking in the beautifully crafted interior!