RE: Dallara launches 855kg road car

RE: Dallara launches 855kg road car

Thursday 16th November 2017

Dallara launches 855kg road car

Prolific motorsport manufacturer creates the Stradale - a dramatic and decidedly upmarket rival to the Lotus 3-Eleven



Dallara, the famed Italian manufacturer of racing chassis, has finally put its name to a production car in honour of its founder, Gian Paolo Dallara - who turned 81 today. Named the Stradale, the flyweight track special is offered as a carbon-bodied roadster, but can be turned into a coupe by the addition of optional windscreen, roof and doors. It's powered by a mid-mounted 400hp 2.3-litre Ford Ecoboost engine - chosen for its tuning flexibility - and is based on a carbon fibre tub.


If that all sounds like a somewhat familiar recipe considering the extravagant €155,000 starting price (before taxes), then rest assured that it's all very much about who's doing the cooking. Dallara isn't just famous as a prolific manufacturer within motorsport, it has also regularly farmed its consulting expertise out to car makers - not least Bugatti when it needed help with the carbon fibre architecture of the Veyron. It also built the X-Bow in partnership with KTM.

In fact it is the frequent shuffling of its resources which has evidently kept the Stradale in development for two decades. Word of mouth though - and the allure of the Dallara badge - has apparently been sufficient to already sell out the first year's worth of production, with the first examples due to be delivered to buyers this week. The firm plans to make around 600 cars in the next five years - all to be sold direct from the factory.


In its most basic format, the car gets only a slender aero screen - and the kind of look which befits its 855kg dry weight. A removable windscreen and the carbon fibre frame to locate it are €16,600; a targa frame roof, €7,700. And if you'd like the see-through canopy 'doors', which hinge from the top, that'll be an additional €7,300. Throw in the optional rear wing to complement the conspicuous diffusers and an almost completely flat floor, and the 'coupe' version of the Stradale will reportedly generate up to 820kg of downforce.

Also on the options list are separate reservoir adjustable dampers and an oil pressure accumulator intended to help the four-cylinder engine cope with up to 2g of cornering load. Dallara eventually expects to offer a single-clutch automated gearbox, but for now the car gets a six-speed manual. Electronic stability control is provided, although naturally there's no power assistance to interfere with the steering's clarity.


Fully loaded - i.e. built to keep the rain off - the Stradale will set you back over £200K once Italy's 22 per cent VAT has been accounted for. The good news is that right-hand drive has been factored in at the design stage; the bad news is that Dallara doesn't intend on building any just yet. Either way, it's a mighty fine birthday present for the gaffer - and a fitting gift for a man who managed to work for both Enzo Ferrari and Ferruccio Lamborghini before founding the company which bears his name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author
Discussion

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
Oh my, that is just gorgeous. What a perfect design. I can't remember the last time I really desperately wanted a car. This would fit the bill nicely. Can't afford it though sadly.

blade7

11,311 posts

215 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
Lola should have done this years ago....

thiscocks

3,127 posts

194 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
Looks great. Hold reservation on the engine... Something N/A would be preferable.

Jimmy Recard

17,540 posts

178 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
Fantastic! If only I could afford one

RumbleOfThunder

3,546 posts

202 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
Looks brilliant! They have far too much track credibility to not make something like this. Just hope it marries well with the Ecoboost 4 pot.

Skylinecrazy

13,986 posts

193 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
That is beautiful.

I doubt very much I'll ever see one as no doubt most will go to collectors who store them in a barn..

saaby93

32,038 posts

177 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
How can that be a lotus elise rival when it's about 5 times the price confused

gigglebug

2,611 posts

121 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
saaby93 said:
How can that be a lotus elise rival when it's about 5 times the price confused
3-Eleven not Elise.

dimots

3,013 posts

89 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
Perfect lines. What a stunning design.

JMF894

5,475 posts

154 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
Whilst I can understand the benefits of a compact and relatively lightweight 4 cylinder engine, I would need something far more exotic propelling me for that price tag.


Krikkit

26,500 posts

180 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
Hang On said:
Oh my, that is just gorgeous. What a perfect design. I can't remember the last time I really desperately wanted a car. This would fit the bill nicely. Can't afford it though sadly.
+1 doesn't do it justice, absolutely spot on.

What a lovely piece of design (coupé add-ons need to be seen mind), being a Dallara I'd expect it to drive properly as well. The engine might not have a premium pedigree, but 400hp in <1 ton with a fat driver and a full tank is very potent indeed.

cib24

1,115 posts

152 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
Very very cool but why in the hell does everyone have to use that awful sounding Ford 2.0-2.3L Ecoboost motor? Why not be like Ariel and use something that sounds like it is worth paying £150,000 for?

Andy665

3,599 posts

227 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
Looks absolutely gorgeous.

Interesting comments about it being better with a n/a engine - what options are there out there - I'm struggling to think of one

ChocolateFrog

24,852 posts

172 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
Andy665 said:
Looks absolutely gorgeous.

Interesting comments about it being better with a n/a engine - what options are there out there - I'm struggling to think of one
Do Alfa still make the Busso V6? I can't think of anything N/A and lightweight South of a V8.

em177

3,127 posts

163 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
Andy665 said:
Looks absolutely gorgeous.

Interesting comments about it being better with a n/a engine - what options are there out there - I'm struggling to think of one
Subaru/Toyota 4 pot.

thegreenhell

15,111 posts

218 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
gigglebug said:
saaby93 said:
How can that be a lotus elise rival when it's about 5 times the price confused
3-Eleven not Elise.
So only double the price of the Lotus then...and only a 4-pot Ecoboost engine?

saaby93

32,038 posts

177 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
Is an elise or equivalent still 721kg?

gigglebug

2,611 posts

121 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
thegreenhell said:
gigglebug said:
saaby93 said:
How can that be a lotus elise rival when it's about 5 times the price confused
3-Eleven not Elise.
So only double the price of the Lotus then...and only a 4-pot Ecoboost engine?
Yes, you would definitely think that in the price bracket the car is positioning itself in that the engine choice would be a bit of a turn off. You'd have to assume that the folks who make up the first years sold out allocation new this though?

RumbleOfThunder

3,546 posts

202 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
cib24 said:
Very very cool but why in the hell does everyone have to use that awful sounding Ford 2.0-2.3L Ecoboost motor? Why not be like Ariel and use something that sounds like it is worth paying £150,000 for?
Because the Ecoboost will be cheaper and put out better numbers. TBH a Honda Vtec is hardly exotic, however loud the supercharger is.

JMF894

5,475 posts

154 months

Thursday 16th November 2017
quotequote all
RumbleOfThunder said:
cib24 said:
Very very cool but why in the hell does everyone have to use that awful sounding Ford 2.0-2.3L Ecoboost motor? Why not be like Ariel and use something that sounds like it is worth paying £150,000 for?
Because the Ecoboost will be cheaper and put out better numbers. TBH a Honda Vtec is hardly exotic, however loud the supercharger is.
But it is at least 100x more interesting than a turbo Ecoboost, probably more reliable and will sound much, much better at 8k. Or do supercharged vtecs not rev like a N/A one?