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Viaretro in Danish

Visual Sunday: A Plastic Facelift for this Coming Springtime?

ViaRETRO

Smalltalk

April 12, 2020

While the self-confessed purists have always turned their noses up at the Series 3 Spider due to those plastic bumpers and rear spoiler, would you really turn it away now that spring is here and the sun has come out to play?

Alfa Romeo eighties facelift Italian Spider springtime

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Previous Prime Find of the Week: A Stylish 1953 Family Saloon

Next Coventry: The UK’s Motor City

ViaRETRO

ViaRETRO is first and foremost about the joy of classic cars: The rare, beautiful and exotic – and the obscure, the famous and quirky, and of course everyday cars from a bygone era.

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5 Responses

jakob356 says:

April 12, 2020 at 15:47

As a 1980ies car with a 1960ies body, it is easy do demean. But it’s red, Italian and open – so who cares about age?
Tony Wawryk says:

April 13, 2020 at 12:30

@jakob356 – so the red Italian convertible gets away with being a 20-year difference between car and body, but not the Riley? ;)
Dave Leadbetter says:

April 13, 2020 at 13:35

Better looking than the original.
jakob356 says:

April 13, 2020 at 16:11

I dont’t make the rules. Which classic cars works for you are up to gut feelings and personal preferences.
This particular one even got to be a 1990ies car also, so maybe the 1980ies version isn’t too bad?
Anders Bilidt says:

April 13, 2020 at 21:56

I’m certainly not here to make any rules either – quite the contrary, I tend to break rules more often than I make them… ;-)

But I personally have come to quite like the Series 3 Spider. Yes, I admit that there was a time where I too would adhere to what was expected of me. As such I loved the Duetto, really liked the Kamm-tail, and immediately dismissed both the Series 3 and Series 4 Spider. But the later versions have grown on me. Is the Series 3 as beautifully unadorned as the Series 1? Absolutely not! And would I rather own a Series 1 than a Series 3? Well, yes, I would. But the Duetto will also set you back about four times as much. That’s a lot of money when it’s essentially the exact same car! In the meantime, while the Series 3 most certainly is a compromised styling exercise, it also perfectly represents the somewhat misguided and tacky trends of the eighties in a way where it now in retrospect perfectly sums up that entire decade. And for that reason, I do in fact quite like it. And yes, as long as it’s NOT resale red, I would actually truly enjoy driving one through the coming spring and summer…

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ViaRETRO is about the joy of classic cars: rare, beautiful and exotic – and the ob the famous and quirky, and of course everyday cars from a bygone era.