While the Italian motor industry produces many fine saloons, it is their glamorous sports cars that grab the attention. Few cars illustrate this point better than the Alfa Romeo Spider. Launched in 1955, the 1300cc twin-cam powered Guilietta Spiders were hailed as better than state-of-the art, and placed high-performance handling and exotic Pininfarina styling within the reach of regular enthusiasts.

Faster twin-carb Veloce versions soon followed, and a rise in engine capacity to . 1600cc ushered in the Guilia Spider in 1962. Alongside the Guilietta Spiders were the slightly larger 2000 and 2500 Spiders which featured bodywork by Touring of Milan, and were more like gentlemen's sports cars.

In 1966 Spider styling changed with the Duetto, again designed by Pininfarina. This was the car everyone remembers Dustin Hoffman driving in The Graduate, and as a consequence the Alfa's reputation was set in stone.

The US market was crucial to sports car producers and during the 1970s the Spider suffered numerous indignities in order to comply with environmental protection legislation. In 1983 matters improved and the facelifted Spider appeared at the Geneva Show. In 1986 came the Quadrifoglio model with full body-kit and alloy wheels.

The final incarnation of the classic Spider was produced in 1990 and by the time production ended in 1994 it had become an icon. But this was not the end of the story. In 1995 a totally new model was launched with design input from Pininfarina and Fiat's in-house Centro Stile department in Turin. The new Spider's radical good looks, chassis and front-wheel drive train were good enough to maintain the tradition of it's iconic predecessors.

Motoring journalist and author John Tipler recounts the saga of the Alfa Romeo Spider in this Crowood AutoClassic, from its origins in the Guilietta series of 1955, the legendary Duetto and its successors through to the very latest model. Many rare and previously unseen photographs combine with full specifications and driving appraisals to make this an interesting and absorbing book.