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Surprising news in the roadster world: Alfa Romeo boss Harald Wester tells CAR Magazine that the Italian brand will build a new Spider completely in-house, while the Miata-based roaster that's been planned since 2012 will wear the Fiat-Abarth badge. More Italian roadsters is always good news.
The plan for an Alfa-Mazda roadster partnership goes back to 2012, when the next-generation MX-5 Miata was first announced. The partnership called for "a new roadster for the Mazda and Alfa Romeo marques based on Mazda's next-generation MX-5 rear-wheel-drive architecture" with "differentiated, distinctly styled, iconic and brand-specific" designs and powertrains. Sounds like a good recipe.
But Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Alfa's parent company, has other plans. CEO Sergio Marchionne has mandated that, as long as he's in charge, Alfa Romeo will only build cars in Italy, and the plan to build the Miata-based roadster at Mazda's Hiroshima facility didn't jive.
So that leads us to today, with Alfa Romeo's Wester confirming that "the Far East import will probably find a new home with Fiat-Abarth." But it's the detail he spilled about Alfa Romeo that's the interesting bit.
"As far as the Spider goes, the final version is of course no longer the two-seater FCA codeveloped with Mazda, but a derivative of project Giorgio," Wester told CAR. Project Giorgio refers to Alfa's upcoming midsize rear-or-all-wheel-drive platform, slated for use in Alfa-branded sedans and coupes (and, sigh, four-door "coupes").
So, add an Alfa Romeo Spider to the Giorgio list. And a Miata-based roadster to the Fiat-Abarth brand. And a damned good looking Miata headed to dealerships sometime in 2015. These are good times to be a roadster fan.