Alfa Romeo’s nifty coupe Brera was the runner-up in last year’s election of the European Gay car of the year. The Brera was edged out by the Aston Martin DB9 Volante..

This year, however, Alfa took its revenge and scored a sweeping victory with the Alfa Romeo Spider, the Brera’s drophead sister. So we can safely say that Alfa Romeo is back again! The originally rather inspired car manufacturer lost its lustre in the 1980’s and nearly suffocated on dreary middle class cars in the early 90’s. But FIAT in the role of Prince Charming embraced and kissed Alfa the frog and behold!

The frog transformed into a ravishing Princess again. She brought back an extensive range of racy motorcars, the original trademark of Alfa Romeo. The youngest scion of this family, the Spider, demonstrates Alfa’s recovery quite clearly, being an uncompromising two-seater and a true convertible.

Alfa has resisted the urge to fit the now fashionable but cumbersome retractable roof in favour of a soft-top, thus limiting weight, favouring styling and avoiding the massive backside, which its contemporaries need to store the inevitable hardware. The upshot is a true convertible, cut out for romantic pleasure trips, hot Italian nights and for cruising the streets of Rome, Florence or Milan by moonlight. When in Rome...