The Legendary 33 Stradale: Alfa’s only Supercar When you think of Alfa Romeo, you mostly think of a quote stated by, Jeremy Clarkson, that, “One can’t be a true petrolhead until they’ve owned an Alfa Romeo.” What very few people know though is that Enzo Ferrari started his racing career at Alfa Romeo and that up until the 60s that racing pedigree shone through in their cars. Nowhere was this more clear than in the legendary 33 Stradale of 1967. Designed for LeMans and Endurance racing, this svelte Italian beauty featured a 2.0L 270 horsepower V8 which alongside the 600kg weight, meant it could achieve 160mph down the straights. The Stradale undertook many races including the 24 Hours of LeMans. It would find victory in the 1971 Tagio Florio race but other than that, little else. Nevertheless, it remains one of the most beautiful, revolutionary and influential cars in Alfa Romeo’s 114-year-old history. And today its spirit lives on. Today’s 33 Stradale: More than just an MC20 in a pretty skin Last year in their final year of taking part in Formula 1, Alfa Romeo revealed their brand new 33 Stradale. Now there are plenty of beautiful cars around today, but the 33 Stradale might just be the most beautiful. With its stunning low profile, 8C-inspired rear headlights and signature butterfly doors, it is gorgeous to behold. The interior of the 33 Stradale features leather, Alcantara, carbon fibre, and aluminium. It also uses a retro-inspired 3D ‘telescope’ instrument cluster and controls are fitted to the centre console and bespoke roof switches instead of a touch screen. This body isn’t just beautiful, it’s also clever. The headlights feature integrated air intakes and drag-reducing winglets to enhance performance without compromising the beauty. Yet active aero surfaces were deliberately excluded, per customer requests, resulting in a drag coefficient of 0.375. Underneath the skin, the 33 Stradale is in essence a Maserati MC20. Not that this is a surprise, Stellantis own both Maserati and Alfa Romeo. Both cars feature a lightweight, carbon-fibre monocoque chassis, with aluminium subframes. As well as carbon-aluminium blended roof, butterfly doors and weight-saving polycarbonates. Both even weigh the same at around 1.5 tonnes, and have the same length, width and height. Both even use similar engines, 3.0L Twin-Turbo V6s that produce 620 horsepower and 538 lb-ft of torque. Both also feature 8-speed dual-clutch gearboxes and both in time will be available with the option of being EVs. Not that anyone should tick that box. Aesthetics-wise wise the Alfa beats the Maserati, having a far more hand-crafted beautiful body, a far more classy interior and limited paint schemes like Rosso Alfa, Royal Blue, and a racing-inspired white/red livery. These make it stand out far more. But the biggest difference is the exclusivity and price. Maserati have and continue to build many MC20s, which anyone can buy should they spare $278,000. Whilst Alfa plan to build only 33 Stradales, all have been sold and each cost…$3.3 million. Sounds like a scam, but Alfa claims that their piece of art is not only more beautiful than its Maserati cousin but faster as well. 207mph, will it be possible? The MC20 has a top speed of 202mph, but Alfa Romeo, believes their Stradale can go even faster with a top speed of 207mph. To do this they headed to the famed Nardò Test Ring. A 12.5-kilometre high-speed circuit offers the ideal environment for comprehensive performance assessments. Alfa believes the Stradale will mostly be faster due to slight increases in its length and width all of which make it more aerodynamically enhanced than its Trident sibling. And its carbon-fibre construction should withstand the G forces it will undergo during this high speed testing. In addition, Alfa plans to also test the 750 horsepower EV variant of the Stradale. Only time will tell if they achieve the 207mph figure but this level of commitment shows Alfa want the 33 Stradale to be more than just an MC20 in a new suit. They want to exceed Maserati’s current supercar in every single measure. In speed, style, exclusivity and performance to justify such a high price for their masterpiece. But then again you just have to look at both cars to know that the Alfa looks 10 times the value of the Maser, which more than justifies its additional cost.Source: Stellantis
