Author: Ray Marchica

Finally! Our 124 Spider 2000 (1983 Pininfarina) has arrived. The word FINALLY is not meant to convey negative connotations, but is an expression of elation for a much-awaited car.

The final delivery of our 124 was delayed by a very harsh and long winter in the Chicago area in 2019, and the impossibility for Roadster Salon to get miles and iron out bugs on a nearly finished car. We have taken the last year to develop our impressions, and share them with your other customers.

We soon began to appreciate that Roadster Salon does not just rebuild cars but they make dreams happen and nothing leaves their facility unless it is perfect. The attention to the smallest detail is second to none. In fact, one may say that Ray Marchica and his team develop a sort of personal attachment to every project, as if this was their own piece of art.

From a customer viewpoint the process to build our car was very straightforward.
We spent some time computer modeling to get a rendering of what the finished car would look like. Then we agreed on the basic specs, colors and interior details and sit back for the final delivery. Later we made a quick visit to Roadster Salon facility towards the end of the build, which we believe was fundamental to meet the team and to iron out cosmetic details. These details that made the difference on the perfection of the final build.

Following the car’s arrival at my son’s house in California, one cannot express but admiration for the quality of the work from the paint, to the wood of the dash panel, the leather interior and to the state-of-the-art instruments. We knew this up front when we saw that the paint job was done by spraying each panel individually after meticulous disassembly– rather than on an assembled car. Every panel was sprayed vertically, so the paint could be the same thickness and the color would be consistent. This is quality workmanship rarely seen.

My son Andrea and I look forward to continue enjoying this Spider in the Los Angeles area, and as I live in Switzerland, I am already thinking of another one to take back to Europe. (Need to get approval from my wife though!!) The driving experience has been wonderful.

One last comment: I am sure there are many places that can rebuild a FIAT 124, but if one wants a true work of art car with meticulous attention to detail, then I believe Roadster Salon is the place to go. To the next one.

Roberto and Andrea Dionisio, April 2020

Roadster Salon will be making a major announcement through all media outlets at the end of the Summer. This dramatic news involves production plans for the first Spider built by Roadster Salon from the ground up with its own proprietary driveline and special features. There have been many rumors about these plans and this new direction. All we can say at this time is that it will be a radical departure from anything we have produced in the past, and will break new ground in terms of performance and overall driving experience. Stay tuned.

Every business has ways to cut corners. Car restorers are no different. Using cheap labor and materials are just one way to save money. Skip a step. Don’t check your work multiple times. Maybe don’t check it at all. Sacrifice long term durability for quick fixes. And if it takes too long, add it to the bill.

The best shops accept the fact that you can’t in good conscience charge a customer for your problems when things go wrong. In this business, slow and steady wins the race. You can either build your brand slowly with tight margins and be fair to everyone–or go in for the kill and be gone in a few years. The choice is clear.

This philosophy applies in every aspect of what we do. From mechanical work, crafting interiors, to pain refinishing. This means hundreds of man hours, and many months of sweating the most minute details.

When you get a call on an extremely rare, rust free California Alfa GTV you listen. You also have no one to blame but yourself if you don’t look the car over thoroughly before buying it. Just like a novice private party, we bought this lovely GTV on the advice of another dealer and some well-staged photos. Based on our purchase price, we expected the car to be showroom ready. When it arrived at Roadster Salon, our hearts sank.

While the car did run well as described, the photos we examined told a different story from what we saw in person. Why on earth would a customer—or dealer for that matter paint a $60,000 car with the skill set of a fifth grader. Runs, drips, fish-eyes and orange peel were in almost unlimited supply. Waves and misaligned body panels took center stage. And it wasn’t just the paint. We were also treated to mismatched tires, shoddy bright work, and worn out carpets (hidden by new floor mats) at no charge.

Anyone want to test drive a spider in this weather? It’s been barely a month since our last entry, and we are already looking at almost a foot of snow outside the showroom. A real gut punch for those of us hoping for decent driving conditions for a few more weeks. Obviously the Dioniso project will need to stay in the garage until Spring. Luckily our customer also lives in a seasonal environment overseas, so the urgency to ship has passed.

Most of the issues that required sorting in October have been resolved. Now it’s only a matter of waiting for clear roads and sunshine so we can put enough test miles on the car to be comfortable shipping it out.

While it may take nine months to have a baby, it takes longer to give birth to a custom Pininfarina spider. We thought we were close about a month ago, but the special instrument panel is fighting us. Other elements are dragging on a bit too. We have taken our first ride in the car, but it still feels like it needs additional sorting.

Our main concern at this point is the impending winter in Chicago, which will make further testing difficult if not impossible. It all comes down to customer direction, and if Mr. Dioniso will allow the car to be driven with snow/salt on the roads. My guess is that we will take it as far as we can this Fall, and wait for significant road time in March or April when the chill of the air is gone and the salt trucks are parked until next season.

As with any project, customer excitement and anticipation are difficult to balance with the reality of working on an almost forty-year-old chassis. Marrying new design elements with old technology is always a challenge. Hard to tell a patient customer the cake isn’t ready to come out of the oven.

The Dionisio project, which began some eight months ago is now in its final stages. Only fine details and build tweaks remain. A productive visit from the Dionisio family at our Barrington facility last week was all that was necessary to finalize some key elements of the build. Wood for the custom dash along with special order gauges will make a definitive statement in the interior. Real Borrani wheels and a custom exterior graphic will complete the overall look.

We have created something very unique for Mr. Dioniso and his son that we are extremely proud of—meeting the family in person was a great moment. It was a chance for us to all share in the efforts made to build this stunning automobile. It makes a huge difference when we get to meet the end user. Knowing the work is appreciated really makes it all worthwhile.

In an unexpected development, a Series One Roadster Salon Lusso built originally in 2010, took fourth place at the International Falls Annual Car Show against a field of muscle car entries. “We entered the show on a lark. Our Lusso was one of only three foreign cars at the show, so we were really surprised at the attention it received, considering the audience. The top three cars were a 1972 Mustang, a 1969 Chevy Z28 Camaro and a 1917 Dodge Touring, so we were in nice company.” Most people had no idea what the car really was, and assumed it was a 1960’s Ferrari.

This particular Lusso was production number 02/50. Over the years, the owner has upgraded the car each winter, as Roadster has developed new technology. Currently the car has received most S2 upgrades including our second-generation rack/pinion steering system. Unlike some Lusso models that are show ponies, this example has logged the most miles of any Roadster Salon Lusso sold to date. During the relatively short Northern Minnesota driving season, the car is used vigorously on a daily basis.

I am amazed at how nice the car still looks. The fit and finish has really held up over the years and the reliability has been comparable to our newer cars at home. My wife is the main driver, and she really enjoys the curves with the top down. If it isn’t snowing, the Lusso is first out of our garage.

My Dad loved metaphors, slogans and “isms”. One of his favorites was “In life, things never stay the same. You are either getting better or getting worse.” This slogan became his business mantra, as he constantly urged us to improve. Dad wanted every car we build to be better than the one that came before it. To him, anything less meant staying the same—and that was synonymous with failure.

The new Tributo is based on the immensely popular Lusso S2

Roadster Salon is always moving forward, refining our vision. While the original Lusso was mostly a cosmetic exercise, the Series Two was a sincere effort to update the Spider and make it more in tune with today’s drivers and roads. Several years after my Dad passed away, I remember sitting down with our engineers in the conference room, and listing a stock spider’s shortcomings on a legal pad. “The car doesn’t stop. Its electrical system needs to be updated or it will never be reliable. It rattles like crazy. A Spider can’t keep up with traffic. And it steers like an old truck”. The criticism was harsh, but fair.

My Dad always resisted modifying the Spider, because he wanted our restorations to maintain their originality. He worried the car would lose its charm if the changes were poorly conceived or badly executed. His worries aside, I knew our Spiders need more than just better fit and finish. They had to drive better too. Trying to make upgrades using commonly available parts was not an option. It had been tried too many times unsuccessfully. We needed new ideas, designed and fabricated by our own staff. Once we got the engineers on board, the solutions came with comparative ease.

Proudly, the Lusso S2 has become our most valued effort. It is a rolling showcase for Roadster Salon’s exclusive technology, and made the Spider a safer, more contemporary driving experience. We’ve spent countless hours and thousands of miles behind the wheel of our Lusso development vehicles, detailing how they behaves under a variety of road conditions. When compared to a stock Spider, the current Lusso S2 is a dream concept. It is far beyond the fit, finish and performance capabilities of an original Fiat Spider. Yet, further improvements were still possible. The Tributo is our next step.

What is a Tributo, and how does it differ from a Lusso S2?

The idea for the Tributo came to us about a year ago, when a creative customer suggested doing a themed version of the Lusso S2. A true Italian car enthusiast, he correctly noted the DNA running through the veins of all Spiders originated from vintage Ferraris and Maseratis. Our customer wanted to “pay tribute” to those classic roadsters from the 60’s and 70’s. He wondered aloud if some of those design elements could be merged with the basic Lusso platform. We loved the premise. I saw it as an opportunity to take the Lusso to an even higher level of custom design and performance.

Once again, the yellow pad came out. But this time, not only to outline areas where performance could be improved. We took the lid off and re-imagined the entire car. We quickly realized that it’s much more difficult to improve something that’s already very good, versus something with obvious flaws. Roadster Salon’s team was up for the challenge and focused on refinement, detail and aesthetics.

To suit the taste of both luxury and performance-oriented customers, we decided to build two different versions of the Tributo. A Maserati themed version and one inspired by Ferrari. Each have their own unique personalities.

For the Maserati Tributo, our first area of attention was the interior. Our design team’s focus was to upgrade it cosmetically while also making it more functional and luxurious. The directive was to keep these improvements within the context of a Maserati inspired theme. The new Tributo incorporates an entirely new dash design. It features custom white-faced LED gauges with a GPS tracked odometer and speedo, plus a real Maserati jewel-like clock as a binnacle centerpiece. The entire package is trimmed with hand stitched Maserati sourced leather.
Next on the agenda was performance. Early in the process, we decided to include exclusive technology planned for a future Lusso S3 into the Tributo. The decision was aimed to bring newly developed engineering improvements to the market immediately, rather than waiting for a revision scheduled for next year. Consequently, the Tributo features our Generation II rack and pinion steering system, second generation structural chassis bracing, and a Maserati inspired multi-piston braking system. The Tributo’s suspension and drive line has also received some subtle tweaks beyond the current Lusso S2. An improved automatic transmission and power steering are available options.

The cherry on top is a choice between real Boranni wire wheels or custom scaled and adapted Maserati alloys. Each car is finished exclusively in a color from Maserati’s factory color chart with more extensive paint preparation and better finishing than a standard Lusso S2. For a limited time, the Tributo Maserati package will be priced at $15,995 (plus the cost of a base Lusso S2).

Roadster Salon Spider Tributo Ferrari

Our Ferrari inspired Tributo is similar in concept to the Maserati version. However, this second themed model has more emphasis on sport. It is designed for those seeking a slightly harder edged car, with even sharper reflexes. As expected, interior and exterior colors are from the factory Ferrari color palate. The Tributo Ferrari will also have a non-functional version of the custom hood found only on the Spider America. Gauge faces can be black or yellow in addition to white. A Ferrari inspired dash arrangement differing in detail from the Maserati version will be included. Stiffer suspension settings and a shorter throw five speed transmission is also standard.

Orders for both models are being taken now for Spring 2019 delivery on a first come basis. Learn More.

After years of only servicing our own restoration customers, Roadster Salon has expanded our service capabilities to help customers who are currently being turned away from their local Fiat-Alfa-Maserati franchised dealer service departments. “Unfortunately, in nearly all cases these dealers are only trained on the new models by the factory. They have zero interest or expertise in working on the vintage models. That leaves owners of older Fiats and Alfa Romeos out in the cold.”

As an FYI, we can also service newer Fiat models including the Abarth and 124. Roadster Salon now offers labor discounts to Italian car club members. Call about our appointment schedule, as we anticipate longer lead times until staff is ramped up to accommodate demand.