Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale
Encyclopedia
The Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is an extremely rare road car built by Alfa Romeo
of Italy
. Only 18 are reported to have been made, plus three design studies based on the 33 Stradale the 33.2, Iguana and Carabo. "Stradale" is Italian for Road
or Traffic
.
In Top Gear's 100 Sexiest Cars list, the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale was featured as number 15.
Alfa Romeo T33
racing car. The car, designed by Franco Scaglione
, and built by Carrozzeria Marazzi
, made its debut at the 1967 Turin Motorshow.
. The Stradale also features windows which seamlessly curve upward into the 'roof' of the vehicle.
The race-bred engine bore no relation to the mass-produced units in Alfa's more mainstream vehicles. Race engineer Carlo Chiti
designed an oversquare (78 mm bore x 52,2 mm stroke) dry-sump lubricated 1995 cc V8
that featured SPICA
fuel injection, four ignition coils and 16 spark plugs. The engine used four chain-driven camshafts to operate the valve train and had a rev-limit of 10000 rpm. The engine produced 230 bhp (172 kW) at 8800 rpm in road trim and 270 bhp in race trim.
In another break from convention, Alfa used a six-speed transaxle
gearbox by Valerio Colotti
.
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...
of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Only 18 are reported to have been made, plus three design studies based on the 33 Stradale the 33.2, Iguana and Carabo. "Stradale" is Italian for Road
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
or Traffic
Traffic
Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...
.
In Top Gear's 100 Sexiest Cars list, the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale was featured as number 15.
Derivation
The Stradale, first built in 1967, was based on the AutodeltaAutodelta
Autodelta SpA was the name of Alfa Romeo's competition department. Established in 1961 as Auto-Delta, the company was started by Carlo Chiti, a former Alfa Romeo and Ferrari engineer, and Ludovico Chizzola, an official Alfa Romeo dealer. The team was officially made a department of Alfa Romeo on...
Alfa Romeo T33
Alfa Romeo T33
The Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 was a sports racing prototype raced by the Alfa Romeo factory-backed team between 1967 and 1977. These cars took part for Sport Cars World Championship, Nordic Challenge Cup, Interserie and CanAm series...
racing car. The car, designed by Franco Scaglione
Franco Scaglione
Franco Scaglione was an automobile coachwork designer.-Biography:Franco Scaglione was born in Florence to Vittorio Scaglione, a chief army doctor, and to Giovanna Fabbri, captain of the Italian Red Cross service. His was a well-to-do family of noble ancestry...
, and built by Carrozzeria Marazzi
Carrozzeria Marazzi
Carrozzeria Marazzi is an Italian coachbuilding company founded in 1967 and is located in Caronno Pertusella, outside Milan.The company was established by Carlo Marazzi and employees from the then bankrupt Carrozzeria Touring of Milan...
, made its debut at the 1967 Turin Motorshow.
Price
Built in an attempt by Alfa to make some of its racing technology available to the public, it was the most expensive automobile for sale to the public in 1968 at US$17,000 (when the average cost of a new car in 1968 was $2,822).Features
The Stradale is believed to be the first production vehicle to feature dihedral doors, also known as butterfly doorsButterfly doors
Butterfly doors or vertical doors are a type of door sometimes seen on high-performance automobiles. They are similar to scissor doors, but while scissor doors move up, butterfly doors also move outwards, which makes for easier entry/exit at the expense of saving space.The McLaren F1, Alfa Romeo 33...
. The Stradale also features windows which seamlessly curve upward into the 'roof' of the vehicle.
The race-bred engine bore no relation to the mass-produced units in Alfa's more mainstream vehicles. Race engineer Carlo Chiti
Carlo Chiti
Carlo Chiti was an Italian racing car and engine designer. Chiti is best known for his long association with Alfa Romeo's racing department....
designed an oversquare (78 mm bore x 52,2 mm stroke) dry-sump lubricated 1995 cc V8
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
that featured SPICA
SPICA
SPICA S.p.A. was an Italian manufacturer of fuel injection systems.- History :The company was founded by Francesco Cassani in 1932. SPICA fuel injection systems were used in diesel and petrol engines....
fuel injection, four ignition coils and 16 spark plugs. The engine used four chain-driven camshafts to operate the valve train and had a rev-limit of 10000 rpm. The engine produced 230 bhp (172 kW) at 8800 rpm in road trim and 270 bhp in race trim.
In another break from convention, Alfa used a six-speed transaxle
Transaxle
In the automotive field, a transaxle is a major mechanical component that combines the functionality of the transmission, the differential, and associated components of the driven axle into one integrated assembly....
gearbox by Valerio Colotti
Valerio Colotti
Valerio Colotti was an Italian automotive engineer, known for his early work with Ferrari and Maserati chassis and transmission systems....
.