All the big rollers came out for the game this year in Geneva, but Alfa Romeo raised the stakes yet again with the unveiling of the production version of the breathtakingly curvaceous 8C Spider. Take the term "production" with a grain of salt, though, as only 500 examples of the roadster will be built, making this one of the few chances we'll have to see and bring you this exemplary piece of exotic Italian machinery first-hand.

Newly-appointed CEO Luca de Meo was on hand to unveil the ivory roadster to the throngs of anxiously awaiting scribes and photogs, but that didn't stop us from shooting the 8C until our hands started to tremble.

Let's be honest here. There are some cars on which we report because they're new and that's what we do. But some are just pure pleasure. Now try to figure out into which category the Alfa Romeo 8C Spider falls.

Although we've already seen plenty of the Alfa 8C in both coupe and roadster bodystyles, we can never get quite enough, and at this year' Geneva show, Alfa will finally be showing the production version of the 8C Spider. Technical details carry over from the luscious fixed-roof 8C Competizione, and little is expected to have changed from the concept spider unveiled at Pebble Beach in 2005 to the production version being unveiled now. As with the initial run of the coupe, only 500 spiders will be produced, so this could be our best chance to get up close and personal with the hottest model this side of Scarlett Johansson.

To whet our appetites, Alfa Romeo has dropped three dreamy photos of the production 8C Spider – check them out by clicking on the thumbnails below.