| Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale | |
|---|---|
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| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Alfa Romeo |
| Production | November 1967 – March 1969 18 produced |
| Assembly | Milan, Italy (Carrozzeria Marazzi) |
| Designer | Franco Scaglione[1] |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Sports car (S) |
| Body style | 2-doorcoupé |
| Layout | Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive |
| Doors | Butterfly |
| Related | Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 2.0 LV8 |
| Transmission | 6-speedColottimanual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,350 mm (92.5 in) |
| Length | 3,970 mm (156.3 in) |
| Width | 1,710 mm (67.3 in) |
| Height | 991 mm (39.0 in) |
| Curb weight | 700 kg (1,543 lb) |
| Chronology | |
| Successor | Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (2023) (spiritual) |
TheAlfa Romeo 33 Stradale is amid-enginesports car built by Italian automobile manufacturerAlfa Romeo. It was the fastest commercially available car for the standing kilometer upon its introduction.[2][3][4] 18 examples were produced between 1967 and 1969. "Stradale" (Italian for "road-going") is a term often used byItalian car manufacturers to indicate a street-legal version of aracing car; indeed the 33 Stradale was derived from theTipo 33sports prototype. Built in an attempt by Alfa Romeo to make some of its racing technology available to the public, it was also the most expensive automobile for sale to the public in 1968 atUS$17,000 (equivalent to $153,700 in 2024).[5]
The 33 Stradale was based on theAutodelta Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 racing car. The car, designed byFranco Scaglione,[6] and built byCarrozzeria Marazzi, made its debut at theParis Salon de L'Auto on 5 October 1967.[7]
The first prototype (chassis no. 10533.01) was built at Autodelta's workshop in Settimo Milanese, side by side with the Tipo 33 "Periscopica" race car in 1967. The body was built by Franco Scaglione and his team from Carrozzeria Marazzi, while Autodelta worked on the technical aspects of the car. Work to manufacture another magnesium bodied prototype (chassis no. 10533.12) (intended for street racing) was started by Scaglione. However, Marazzi did not finish this until 1968. The two prototypes are the only ones to have the dual headlight arrangement. This was redesigned by Scaglione on the production cars due to regulations on minimum headlight distance from the ground.
The two prototypes carry the project's original serial numbers, 105.33.xx. However, the Tipo 33 racing and production cars got 750.33.0xx (racing) and 750.33.1xx (Stradale) chassis numbers.Marazzi claims to have built 18 chassis. 5 of them were used for 6 concept cars (one chassis was used twice) by Pininfarina, Bertone and Giugiaro/Italdesign and 8 were used for production cars. The rest of the chassis numbers are not confirmed due to a lack of available information as the exact number (allegedly 18) of actual Stradale-chassis (with a 10 cm longer wheelbase than the race cars) doesn't quite match the range of chassis numbers.[citation needed]
The production version of the 33 Stradale was introduced at the Sport Car Show in Monza, Italy in September 1967.[8] The prototype (chassis No. 105.33.01) was sold to the Gallery Abarth in Japan.[3] The second magnesium bodied Stradale prototype (chassis No. 105.33.12) and the five concept cars are now part of theAlfa Romeo Museum.
The 33 Stradale is one of the first production vehicles to feature forward- and upward-openingbutterfly doors, hinged both at the base and on top of thewindshield-frame,[9] allowing the 33 Stradale to also feature side windows which seamlessly curve upward into the roof/canopy of its body. Most cars feature an aluminium body on an aluminium tubular chassis. As a result of being built by hand, each model differs from the others in some details. For example, the position of the windscreen wiper, and some of the later cars having vents added behind both the front and rear wheels to allow hot air from the brakes to escape is a differentiating factor.[10]The car has 13 inches (33 cm)Campagnolo magnesium-alloy wheels – the front and the rear wheels are 8 and 9 inches (20 and 23 cm) wide respectively; the brakes used are disc brakes manufactured byGirling,[8] the rear ones areinboard. The suspension system of the car is directly derived from the Tipo 33 race car, withupper and lower control arms in the front anddouble trailing arms in the rear, along with substantialanti-roll bars.
| Type | 90°DOHCV8 |
|---|---|
| Displacement | 1,995 cc (2.0 L; 121.7 cu in) |
| Bore x stroke | 78mm x 52.2mm |
| Power | 230 PS (227 hp; 169 kW) at 8,800 rpm |
| Torque | 206 N⋅m (152 lb⋅ft) at 7,000 rpm |
| Top speed | 260 km/h (162 mph) |
| 0–100 km/h (62 mph) | less than 6 seconds (untested) |
The race-bred engine bore no resemblance to the mass-produced units in Alfa Romeo's more mainstream vehicles. The engine is closely related to the V8 of theMontreal, albeit with a smaller displacement and a higher power output. The engines, despite being derived from the Tipo 33 racer cars, differed in many details. For example, the 33 Stradale's engines had chain driven camshafts as opposed to the racers' gear driven ones, but the Stradale kept the racing engine'sflat plane crankshaft, whereas the Montreal engine had acrossplane crank. Race engineerCarlo Chiti had designed an oversquare bore x stroke of 78 mm × 52.2 mm (3.07 in × 2.06 in) while the all-aluminum 1,995 cc (2.0 L) V8 engine was dry-sump lubricated featuringSPICA fuel injection[11] with four ignition coils and twin spark plugs per cylinder. The engine used four chain-driven camshafts to operate the 2 valves per cylinder valvetrain featuring dual overhead camshafts and had a rev-limit of 10,000 rpm with a compression ratio of 10.5:1[12] The engine has a maximum power output of 230 PS (227 hp; 169 kW) at 8,800 rpm and 206 N⋅m (152 lb⋅ft) at 7,000 rpm of torque in road trim and 270 PS (266 hp; 199 kW) in race trim.[3] Due to the hand-built nature of the drivetrain, the power output levels can vary by each car produced, for example the first production Stradale (No. 750.33.101) has a factory datasheet that states a power output of 243 PS (240 hp; 179 kW) at 9,400 rpm with a "street" exhaust and 254 PS (251 hp; 187 kW) with open exhaust.[13] The transmission is a 6-speed unit similar to the Tipo 33 race car, designed byColotti Trasmissioni.[14]
Although the Stradale is a road legal car, it has some limitations which may make the everyday use slightly hard, for example missing locks and limited ground clearance.[8]
The car takes less than six seconds to attain 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standing start and has a claimed top speed of 260 km/h (160 mph). In 1968, the GermanAuto, Motor und Sport magazine measured a top speed of 252 km/h (156.6 mph) and 24.0 seconds for the standing kilometer which made it the fastest commercially available car for this distance at the time. It achieved this using an engine less than half the displacement of those in high-performance contemporary sports cars such as theLamborghini Miura,Ferrari Daytona, andMaserati Ghibli.[3][4]
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Six concept cars were built on 33 Stradale chassis with bodies designed by various Italian coachbuilders.[15]
| Name | Designer | Debut | Dimensions | Chassis no. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfa Romeo Carabo | Marcello Gandini atBertone | 1968Paris Motor Show | 750.33.109[16] | |
| Alfa Romeo P33 Roadster[a] | Paolo Martin atPininfarina | 1968 Turin Auto Show | 750.33.108[17] | |
| Alfa Romeo Iguana | Giorgetto Giugiaro atItaldesign | 1969 Turin Auto Show | 750.33.116[18] | |
| Alfa Romeo 33/2 Coupé Speciale | Leonardo Fioravanti[19] atPininfarina | 1969Paris Motor Show | wheelbase: 2,350 mm (92.5 in) | 750.33.115[20] |
| length x width: 4,000 mm × 1,800 mm (157.5 in × 70.9 in) | ||||
| height: n/a | ||||
| weight: 720 kg (1,587 lb) | ||||
| Alfa Romeo P33 Cuneo | Paolo Martin[21] atPininfarina | 1971Brussels Motor Show | 750.33.108[22] | |
| Alfa Romeo 33 Navajo | Marcello Gandini atBertone | 1976 Geneva Motor Show | wheelbase: 2,430 mm (95.7 in)[23] | 750.33.117[24] |
| length x width: 3,800 mm × 1,860 mm (149.6 in × 73.2 in)[23] | ||||
| height: 1,050 mm (41.3 in)[23] | ||||
| weight: 870 kg (1,918 lb)[23] |
TheCarabo is a wedge-shaped coupé withscissor doors and was unveiled in 1968 at the Paris Motor Show. It was designed byMarcello Gandini working underBertone, who had already built his reputation by designing theLamborghini Miura.[25]
TheAlfa Romeo Navajo concept car was unveiled at the1976 Geneva Motor Show held in March of that year. It was given a full fibreglass coupé body with a wedge design, typical of the 1970s, and features such as active front and rear spoilers, as well as headlights which extend horizontally from the fenders.[26]The car is equipped with the 2-litre fuel injected (SPICA) V8 engine producing around 230 PS (169 kW; 227 hp) at 8,800 rpm.[23]
Between 1968 and 1971, Italian design housePininfarina designed a total of three vehicles on 33 Stradale chassis:
TheAlfa Romeo P33 Roadster was presented to the public at theTurin Motor Show in November 1968. It was an open-top vehicle with a lower windscreen and a roll bar at rear painted in the colour of the body of the car.[27] The chassis was re-bodied two years later to produce the Cuneo.[28]
TheAlfa Romeo 33/2 Coupé Speciale, also known asAlfa Romeo 33.2, was first presented to the public at theParis Motor Show in 1969. This 2-door coupé was designed byLeonardo Fioravanti, then working at Pininfarina. It bears a striking yellow paint scheme and featured hydraulically operatedbutterfly doors and pop-up headlights.[29] The design was influenced by the Ferrari 250 P5 concept shown a year earlier at Geneva.[30]
TheAlfa Romeo Cuneo, originally called 33 Spider at Pininfarina, was by designed byPaolo Martin. It is an open-top, wedge-shaped concept and was presented at theBrussels Motor Show in January 1971.[28]
TheAlfa Romeo Iguana, designed byItaldesign Giugiaro, was presented at theTurin Motor Show in November 1969. It is a two-seater sports coupé built on chassis No. 750.33.116. The design showed some new elements that Giugiaro introduced later in production vehicle designs. The body of the Iguana was painted a metal-flake grey, while the roof frame and cabin pillars were finished in brushed metal, a treatment Giugiaro later applied to theDMC DeLorean. The front end of the Iguana inspired the designs for theMaserati Bora andMerak, and the rear of the car with its high-mounted tail lights formed the basis of the design of theAlfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint. Allegedly, a small series production of the Iguana was planned, but it never materialized.[18]
A 33 Stradale can be seen in the 1969 Italian movieUn bellissimo novembre.[31][32]
