It's 11 o'clock at night and TG wanders through the Alfa Romeo museum. There is not another living soul to be seen. This is quite a privilege and an important thought immediately arises: what a mountain of hits these guys have created. There is a light blue 8C 2900B Lungo from the late 1930s, a TZ2, a classic blue Giulia in Carabinieri version, with flashing lights and sirens (pronto intervene)… All in all, there are 70 cars on permanent display, with many more in locked treasuries.
But this story is also about people. Take for example Giuseppe Eugenio Luraghi, the CEO of Alfa in the 1960s, an engineer who also happens to be a poet, writer and otherwise versatile jack-of-all-trades. And, like so many Italian greats at the time, a man who made his glasses look cool.
Much more importantly: the man who decided that Alfa Romeo should start racing again, and recruited former Ferrari engineer and all-round genius Carlo Chiti to arrange that. The result of his efforts was the 33 bloodline, a series of racing cars that had to compete against the best that Ferrari and Porsche had come up with at the time.
The birth of the first Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale
The teaser for all this was the 33 Stradale, a road car designed by Franco Scaglione, the designer behind more fantastic cars than we could ever name here (but just think of the Alfa Romeo BAT cars and the Lamborghini 350 GTV for starters ). The 33 is his masterpiece, a car that can still make your jaw hit the ground 56 years later. Only eighteen were built, six of which were cannibalized to serve as the basis for some of the world's most influential concept cars, including the still-baffling 1968 Alfa Carabo.
It's time to meet the new 33 Stradale, one fuoriserie (limited edition) mid-engine super sports car whose debt of honor to its predecessor is so great that they haven't even changed the name. “This car is designed to strengthen our identity, raise our aspirations and embody our values and DNA,” says Alfa's towering and unexpectedly foul-mouthed CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato.
“It's our brand's first purpose-built car since 1969, and I promise it won't be the last. He brings Alfa Romeo back to the “supercar club”, of which we were one of the founders. This car conveys a transformation that supports the direction Alfa Romeo chooses in a changing world.'
The specifications of the new 33 Stradale
Let's put Alfa's long-cherished desire to become the BMW of Italy aside for a moment and consider the car on its own merits, shall we? This new 33, however intriguing, can be ordered with either a 3.0-liter V6 with two turbos, good for more than 620 hp, or as a fully electric car that will most likely have three engines and around 750 hp. will pump out.
The latter is currently being developed and the details are far from clear, but it will be Alfa's first EV. The 33 has a carbon fiber monocoque with aluminum subframes. It will be built in a limited edition of just 33 cars, by the famous Milanese coachbuilder Touring Superleggera.
The new 33 Stradale shows some important evolutionary steps for the company. It is the creation of the Bottega, a small and select group of people that Alfa says is inspired by the Renaissance workshops and body shops of the 1960s. A special department, which is located in a room in the museum and is under the control of a specially convened taste committee.police.
How much does such an ultra-limited Alfa supercar cost?
Potential customers were invited to a secret preview at the Italian Grand Prix, where a price tag reportedly said to be around 2.7 million did anything but scare those in attendance. All 33's were sold that evening. It is our understanding that Bottega is already working on others fuoriserie Alfa Romeos. The brand's design boss, Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos, does not want to say much about it, but does indicate that he is a fan of the exquisite TZ1.
However, the 33 Stradale is not only an expensive marketing stunt, it also gives hints at the design direction that Alfa Romeo wants to take. “The project was born from the passion and dedication of a small team of designers and engineers from the Alfa Romeo Centro Stile,” says Mesonero-Romanos. 'The design is inspired by Franco Scaglione's 1967 masterpiece and is a straightforward look at the lines of future Alfa Romeos. He is a true manifesto of essential beauty.'
Alfa has to be careful with these types of projects
We will see. Capturing the soul of a car as beloved as the original 33 isn't for everyone. You may remember how Marcello Gandini – who designed the Carabo and the Lambo Countach – publicly and mercilessly wiped the floor with the limited edition 2022 Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4.
Which raises a question: wouldn't Alfa Romeo be better off focusing on developing a vibrant new design language for the future, rather than looking wistfully through its own catalogue? Maybe, but on the other hand: when you see this device in real life, there is little room for doubt.
The cofango (a composition of the Italian words cofanohood, and parafango, wheel arch, which is used when the two form one whole) is pleasantly short, with a strong V-shape that gives the 'softer elements' more tension. The Alphascudetto (shield) is of course present, albeit in the form of a remix and remaster; buyers can order it in carbon fiber in its classic form or in a 3D variant.
LEDs give a new graphic impulse to the headlights, which are emphatically based on the expressive 'eyes' of the original. Then there are large upward-hinged butterfly doors with a glass surface running around them, one of the signature features of the original. The roof is made of carbon fiber and aluminum. At the rear there is another V-section, which draws attention to a point above the center of the carbon fiber diffuser. The rear lights, whose cylindrical shape cut deeply into the rear wing, provide even more visual spectacle.
The 33 Stradale plays borrowed from neighbor
It's safe to say that financial pragmatism has ensured that the new 33 Stradale is not entirely 'new'. During the big unveiling in Arese, the men in suits went through an endless amount of verbal twists and turns to create distance between the 33 and the Maserati MC20 (a project that started as an Alfa, then became a Maserati and now… another Alfa is).
The engine is an upgraded evolution of the twin-turbo V6 from the Giulia Quadrifoglio, now with 3.0 liter capacity and new cylinder heads, but without the smart, fuel-saving 'pre-chamber ignition' of the new Maserati Nettuno engine. An upgraded version of the existing eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox has been fitted and an active rear axle provides four-wheel steering. A claimed top speed of 332 km/h and a 0-to-100 time of under 3.0 seconds.
A Strada driving mode is available for your more daily driving style, when you don't have to go all out all the time, with a friendlier adjustment of the multi-link suspension and the active dampers, where the valve in the exhaust only opens at 5,000 rpm. minute opens.
Pista mode tightens things up where you'd expect, and adds a 'quick start' function that you can activate with the Quadrifoglio button on the center console. The brakes were developed by Brembo and have carbon ceramic discs. Valtteri Bottas, F1 driver for Alfa Romeo, is also part of the development team. The 33 with a combustion engine weighs 1,500 kilos, the electric one will of course be a lot heavier. By the way, it is not clear what the petrol/EV ratio will be – we are curious.
The cabin is perhaps even more beautiful than the outside
Inside it is a typical case of 'less is more'. Maybe the interior is even cooler than the outside. The emphasis here is more on tactility than on technology, and Imparato emphasizes that buyers were certainly not looking for lane-keeping aids and related nonsense. The steering wheel is a lovely three-spoke one without buttons or switches. The dashboard flows beautifully through the cabin; the vents are hidden.
There's a simple '3D telescopic' instrument cluster and a small fold-away multimedia screen. With beautiful mechanical switches on the center console you control starting, driving modes and the gearbox. Those great doors and the amount of glass provide a real cockpit feeling. The rear window is made of polycarbonate.
Two different basic interior treatments are available. Tributo uses leather and aluminum two tone biscuit and slate colored leather, which is also used on the seats, doors, door panels and center tunnel, and on the dashboard. The Alfa Corse version is the clearly sportier-looking variant, with a lot of carbon fiber and Alcantara.
Of course it can be personalized to the max
The main paint color options are red and blue, or you can opt for a red-and-white treatment that references the classic racing colors of the Tipo 33. Owners can also play around with various carbon fiber elements, and the Alfa Romeo You can get a signature on the back in black, gold or silver. But if Alfa stays true to the whole intention of the Bottega project, anything is possible.
Yes, we remember the 8C Competizione from the '00s and the mediocre 4C. And yes, the 'new' 33 is another Alfa that shamelessly feeds on the rich history of the brand. But hey: new time, new owner, new round, new opportunities. And there is also poetry to be found in this car. The old boss would have been proud.
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