Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale targets 207mph at Nardo
'Moderate speed' handling tests are done - time to get serious
It says a lot about the current proliferation of supercars that Alfa Romeo’s first foray into limited-run, carbon-tubbed, mid-engined dream machines - the 33 Stradale - has fallen off the radar a little. Here’s a 600hp-plus, rear-wheel drive, dual-clutch Alfa Romeo that pays homage to perhaps its most iconic race car ever, and there doesn’t seem to be very much excitement about it. Time to address that.
Ahead of reaching customers before the year is out, the 33 Stradale has been high-speed testing at Nardo. This has included reaching the targeted top speed of 333km/h (207mph) as well as confirming the V6 supercar will reach 62mph in less than three seconds. Alfa says that its supercar actually produces ‘over 620hp’, so we’ll assume it’s the 630hp of the Maserati MC20 with which it shares most of its oily bits.
The manufacturer also suggests that ‘every line of the car's sculptural volume is functional to obtaining the best aerodynamic performance’, giving that power the best chance possible of shoving the 33 through the air. Unarguably this is one car that looks like it's doing 200mph when standing still.
As well as the 12km bowl at Nardo, there’s been extensive testing at Balocco, with nothing less than ‘the best driving experience in the category’ targeted for the 33 Stradale. At its home track, the Strada and Pista drive modes were configured, along with the launch control that’s activated via the Quadrifoglio button on the dash. Pista promises ‘an adrenaline-fueled drive’, with rigid suspension, quick shifts, responsive pedals and permanently open exhaust valves.
As with the Giulia Quadrifoglio, brakes for the 33 Stradale are by wire, a carbon ceramic setup from Brembo. They’re able to stop the new car from 62mph in less than 33 metres. Additionally, Alfa says the 33 benefits a suspension arrangement that is 100 per cent its own design, with active damping for ‘a perfect combination of comfort and performance’. The ESC will go all the way off, too, though we’re promised the Stradale remains easy to drive. It seems very unlikely that anyone paying millions for one of these is going to flinging it around like a Lotus, though it’s nice to know the option is there.
‘Both dynamic sessions confirm the ease with which the driver enters into symbiosis with the car, enjoying its power, agility and unmistakably Alfa Romeo sound’, concludes the press release. Ought to be quite the supercar, then, especially given how favourably the related Maserati has been received. Let’s hope the lucky 33 get the opportunity to find out for themselves soon. Surely each owner is entitled to at least a few laps of their own at Balocco…
Are they really only making 33? Seems a waste of R&D.
Given that they announced this over a year ago, they're certainly taking their time getting it ready.
I think there are more iconic Alfa Romeo race cars, such as the Tipo B (P3) with which Nuvolari beat the Silver Arrows on their home turf in 1935, or the original 8C which won the Mille Miglia multiple times before WW2 and even the first race afterwards. How about the 158/159 which despite being fundamentally a pre-war design won the first ever Formula One Grand Prix and first two Drivers’ championships in 1950 and 1951? There are plenty of other examples, such as the 155 V6 DTM cars.
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