1985 Alfa Romeo Spider Graduate


While the cars on this website might lead you to believe otherwise I am a die-hard Alfisti at heart. I bought my first Alfa over thirty years ago, and still own the one I bought in 1988. Heck, I even got my 25-year member pin from the AROC a few years back- which represents many more years than I was when I joined! Along the way I built up a small collection of Alfas of my own, was an AROC Tech Advisor for many years, and- little known fact- when I started Classic Auto my specialty was service and restoration of Alfa Romeos.

Which brings me to my point: I love great Alfas and, while I don’t trade in them, I just couldn’t pass this incredible 1985 Graduate up when I saw it. The ’85 Graduate was always my favorite Gen 3 Spider, a stripped-down model that avoided all of the “luxury” items that robbed these cars of simplicity, formerly their best attribute. Plus 1985 was the last year of the “early” dashboard with the same two gauge pods used from the Duetto forward, but they are also modern enough to have the fantastic Bosch EFI and other improvements under the skin that made them dead reliable and also perform incredibly well.

But above all of that this Graduate is special in its own right. Finished in the ultra-rare factory color combo of Black over Burgundy interior and fitted with factory air conditioning it is the perfect spec. Plus it has had just two owners from new, the original owner from 1985-2002 and the second owner (another well-known Alfisti and an officer of the Arizona AROC) from 2002 until I purchased it from him in early 2017. Needless to say this life-long Utah and Arizona Spider is completely rust and corrosion free, and it has also never suffered any body damage, a rarity with these cars.

With just 89,000 miles from new it also has all of its original books, the owner history above is fully documented, it has a comprehensive folder of maintenance receipts and has also just been fully serviced. It runs, drives, performs and handles as-new, with looks to match. The air conditioning blows ice cold, as you’d expect from a car that lived in Arizona! The only visible flaws are some minor stone chips on the nose and two small cracks in the dash pad that extend from the defroster vents to the windshield- not noticeable when seated in the car.  The top is in perfect condition as is the interior, the body is as dry as a bone and the paint and trim are quite impressive.

Furthermore this car was featured in and road tested for the May 2015 issue of Hemmings Sports and Exotic magazine which you can read by following this link:  “Four Aces” This Alfa Romeo Spider in Hemming’s Sports and Exotics magazine

These 3rd Generation Spiders are quickly gaining increased collectible status, and finding a good one like this is already a very difficult task. I don’t know of any car that offers this kind of history, style, or bang for the buck. Kind of silly that you can buy a car like this for the cost of a tune-up on a Ferrari of the same vintage, isn’t it?

To Be Sold At Mecum’s Monterey Auction, August 18th 2017. Details here: 

https://www.mecum.com/lots/CA0817-300016/1985-alfa-romeo-spider-graduate/

SOLD!

Year: 1985
Mileage: 89,000 mi
Condition: Excellent Unrestored
Exterior Color: Black
Interior Color: Burgundy
Transmission: 5 Speed
Final Drive: 4.10:1
Engine: 2.0L DOHC 4 Cylinder
Drivetrain: RWD