The New Alfa Romeo Spider Will Not Be Based Off the Mazda MX-5

Well over a year ago it was announced that Mazda and Fiat has signed an agreement to use the platform of the 2016 MX-5 as a basis for a new Alfa Romeo Spider. It seemed at the time to be a match made in heaven and everyone was excited to see the final product. However, it's just been confirmed by Alfa Romeo boss Harald Wester that this deal is now off. Instead, Alfa will develop its new roadster on its own in-house rear-wheel-drive architecture that'll also underpin most of the brand's entire future lineup.

Fortunately, the Mazda-Fiat agreement isn't at all dead. It's still very much going to happen, only now it's been slightly altered. The new MX-5 will in the near future serve as the basis for a new Fiat-Abarth roadster. No exact time frame was given for a production start, but the previous Mazda-Alfa deal called to get things underway in 2015. Our best guess is that by sometime late next year an announcement by Fiat-Abarth of some sort will happen.