A realistic view of the new Fiat Spider?

[ga.spyder]

I imagine everyone here has heard that the Alfa/Mazda alliance is kaput,and the joint venture will now be badged as a Fiat.Here is a rendering of what could be the new Fiat Spider.No,not that ugly one based on the ugly 500.No,not the drawing that has been floating around for years.Yes,it does look like a Miata with Italian styling cues.What do you think? Having owned a Miata ,the thought of Miata suspension with the turbo Fiat 1.4 could be potentially fantastic.I hope the final version has more Italian flair!
http://passioneautoitaliane.blogspot.it ... -2015.html

[narfire]

Not a bad looking car in my opinion. Hope to see it with rear wheel drive and 160-200HP along with a bit of room behind the front seats. Seems all the 2-seaters today have absolutely 0 room behind the seats for much of anything.

[baltobernie]

How can you possibly like it, Craig? It's got a small-bump hood

[ga.spyder]

If it is based on the Miata underpinnings,it is doubtful there will be any room behind the seats.That was my complaint with the Miata.I used it for track days,and there wasn't any room to stow even a meager amount of gear.The trunk was useless,so I ended up cramming everything into the passenger seat.This,of course, omitted my passenger!!
Bernie,I like all bumps......

[bradartigue]

Yawn. Looks like a Subaru convertible. Given that the Miata was a rip-off of a Lotus body, why doesn't FIAT just get pininfarina to rip off their own design and try to be faithful to the 124 Spider?

[courtenay]

I kinda like it, although I agree with Chris (Narfire) it would be nice if it had room for dogs in the back.
Brad - I do like my Spider, and I really don't think anyone is going to come up with a modern version of the classic. I'd prefer to see a new Fiat convertible that we can look at and assess on its own merits - and perhaps 40 odd years from now our ancestors will be discussing it on a forum just like this one.

[ga.spyder]

I agree with Brad,in that I was hoping for a clean sheet design on the MX5 chassis.In todays automotive market,that was probably too much to hope for It does look better than what I was afraid would come out of this alliance.And,of course,this is just a rendering.But with the car scheduled for sale in late 2015,we should see at least a test mule soon.There are rumors that a finished product could make an appearance at FFO 15 in Pittsburgh.

[spidernut]

What made the Fiat Spider popular? It was unique and was far better than its competitors like the Spitfire and MGB. What is unique about this concept? Nothing. It looks like every other plastic blob on the road. O.K...it isn't horrible but it isn't unique or very Italian looking.

Now that red Alfa concept modified to look like a Spider is what I would like to see out of Fiat but I don't believe it will ever happen. We'll probably get a rebadged Miata with a different motor and nose...maybe even different tail lights. Whoo hoo...NOT!

[bradartigue]

I kinda like it, although I agree with Chris (Narfire) it would be nice if it had room for dogs in the back.
Brad - I do like my Spider, and I really don't think anyone is going to come up with a modern version of the classic. I'd prefer to see a new Fiat convertible that we can look at and assess on its own merits - and perhaps 40 odd years from now our ancestors will be discussing it on a forum just like this one.

Well let's be honest - the term "Spider" has been applied to a sequence of cars for about a hundred years. The 124 Spider is what we happen to like, but there were all manner of others. In the 1960's if you referred to a "FIAT Spider" people would think you were talking about the 1500. In the 2000s the FIAT Spider was that bathtub looking thing.

I don't think people in general are nostalgic for the 124 Spider. We are, but just like the aborted launch of the 500, the enthusiast market isn't worth marketing to. The 500 is a great example, everyone who was going to buy one of those had made up their mind already - it could have been a wheelbarrow with a FIAT badge, they were going to buy it. If they release a Miata with FIAT badges and "Spider 1400" on the back, the enthusiasts who are inclined to buy such things will. In terms of the general public, the Spider was a pretty bad little car, it had lots of quality control issues and the dealer/parts/service/warranty network was beyond terrible.

[baltobernie]

... furthermore, the body shape of our Spiders would be completely unusable in the 21st century, with pedestrian safety, impact, visibility, etc. regulations being what they are worldwide. Cherish your classic! There won't be any more of 'em!

[fiathead]

I'm optimistic. I would love to see a modern rendition of our favorite car, but I think they need to produce a flat hood first. Then progress to a small bump hood, then on to the large bump hood in later years. That's the way God modeled women and Pininfarina was right in modeling the original Spider as a tribute.

What do you think of the possibility of a 124 coupe version? There has been zero talk of it, but recently Fiat established copyrights to 'Fiat 124' and 'Fiat 124 Spider'. It kind of starts the mind thinking a bit.

[Jimb]

What I'm encouraged by is the return (at least in this rendering) of the chrome...or more likely stainless steel windshield frame.
To me that really gives a sports car a classic look as opposed to the frame being just painted.
I like the car.

Jim