1988 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Is Our Bring a Trailer Auction Pick of the Day

• The Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce is one of the quintessential Italian roadsters.

• Collectors shunned third-series Spider models for decades due to their rubber-intensive design, but in many ways they're better than some of the earlier cars—and considerably more affordable.

• This well-kept convertible is for sale right now on Bring a Trailer, and the auction ends on May 12.

Every time I see an Alfa Romeo Spider, I'm teleported back to my high-school days. This might sound odd, because this red 1988 example currently live with no reserve on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos) is exactly as old as I am. I met the Spider when it was too old to be considered a late-model car yet not old enough to earn the coveted classic status; it was just an aging European car.

I've been obsessed with—"possessed by" might be more accurate—cars since before I could talk, and I had the good fortune of growing up largely in Salt Lake City, Utah. While the Beehive State may not sound like a mecca of classic European cars, and it wasn't, you'd be shocked by the number of vintage Italian machines that were scattered throughout the state in the 2000s. Many were unloved: they were beached in industrial zones, left for dead at mom-and-pop junkyards, or forgotten behind a barn. They were also cheap. After landing a job in the kitchen of a local Italian deli at 16, I turned leaving a friendly "I'd like to buy your car" note into a form of science and began buying, selling, fixing up, parting out, trading, and hoarding. I started the Italian Motor Club of Utah to meet like-minded enthusiasts.

Several species of Spiders ended up in my driveway over the next few years, including Fiat 124s, Fiat 850s, and Alfa Romeos. Some were mine, while others were owned by friends and/or club members. As a side note, real spiders often swung by as well; Utah is home to three or four types of tarantulas. Nearly everyone preferred the Alfa, even when compared to the 124 (no one cast a ballot for the furry ones).