ALFA ROMEO

Garage Italia rescues the legendary Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider with Formula 1's KERS energy recovery system

In the 60s of the last century, 'la Duetto', as it was known in Italy, became one of the icons of the 'Dolce Vita' of that time, and starred in films such as 'The Graduate', from 1967 (The First Night of a Man). Such was the success of the convertible of the Italian brand, which remained in production until 1993, with several evolutions. Now, almost 50 years after its launch, Garage Italia rescues the legendary two-seater with this Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider Hybrid Restomod.

This modernized Alfa Romeo Spider will be presented in September within the framework of Milan Fashion Week and represents a reinterpretation of the Italian classic from the 60s in a modern approach, adapted to current times, equipped with a hybrid propulsion system. The model is based on the last series of the Duetto, specifically the fourth, from 1992.

Currently, Alfa Romeo is focused on its electric strategy and the development of new models that will arrive in the coming years, most of them SUVs. But it does not seem that among the plans of the brand (or of Stellantis) is to launch a convertible and two-seater model, despite the long and successful tradition of the Milan brand in this segment.

For this reason, Garage Italia's project makes more sense, when preparing this Duetto Spider Hybrid based on the 1992 version. It features a body painted in a water green color inspired by the Amalfi Coast, where the towns of Amalfi, Positano and Praiano are located. On the front, it shows the typical grille of the brand, in this case, with a more angular design and painted in black. At the rear, the taillights that characterized the 1992 model. The wheels are also from the latest Spider series.

The bodywork is made of lightweight materials and the interior is covered in Poltrona Frau leather in an intense red colour. It is equipped with specific sound equipment and maintains the analog instrument panel of the original model.

While the fourth series of the Duetto Spider mounted a 2.0-liter gasoline engine with fuel injection, this restomod version uses a hybrid system whose technical specifications have not yet been revealed. But we know that it is coupled to a 5-speed manual transmission and has a KERS energy recovery system, as in Formula 1, provided by Newtron.

Through this system, it can recover energy during braking and use it to support the combustion engine in acceleration phases. In any case, we will know more details as the date of its official presentation in September approaches.

Autonews