Friday 13th June 2014

Alfa Romeo at Le Mans: Pic Of The Week

Some 70s nostalgia courtesy of a slinky Alfa 33/2 sliding it around La Sarthe

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Well, it had to be a Le Mans picture for your desktop delight this week didn't it! Many options - almost too many - so we'll go with the first we stumbled across while researching the Alfa Romeo 33/3 featuring in the introduction to Mark Hales' informative track guide videos. This is an earlier closed cockpit 33/2 of Giancarlo Baghetti and Nino Vaccarella leading the Alpine A110 of Nusbaumer/Bourdon through the chicane in the 1968 race.

This car failed to finish but three other 33/2s came in fourth, fifth and sixth behind the winning Ford GT40 and two Porsches. Not bad going considering the Alfa only had a 2.0-litre V8.

Sadly Alfa Romeo's Le Mans trophy cabinet remains bare, the Italian brand not having won a race at La Sarthe since before the war and the era of the dominant 8C. But if not an outright winner the 33/2 is a wonderfully evocative car and the pic has all the necessary 70s Le Mans 'dressing', including chaps nonchalantly leaning against the Armco inches from the racing line and Gendarmes in all their finery among the crowd.

Traditional (4:3)
Computer widescreen (16:10)
TV widescreen (16:9)
Portrait (smartphone, etc)

Photo: LAT Photo

[Fantuzzi]

It's a shame that the 33 wasn't able to get a Le Mans victory, Group 5 big engine loophole was the killer, despite their success in other races, and in later years picking up the 75 and 77 world sports car championships with their flat 12 engine 33.

[Fantuzzi]

lamby said:

Fantuzzi said:

It's a shame that the 33 wasn't able to get a Le Mans victory, Group 5 big engine loophole was the killer, despite their success in other races, and in later years picking up the 75 and 77 world sports car championships with their flat 12 engine 33.

I like the abarth behind it also... looks ahead of its time, and to be honest... the front has shades of the maclaren f1? And the air intakes remind me of the Enzo....

Yeah you're right, the Abarth were insanely successful, winning in class in the sportscar championship in both the 1.3 and 2litre classes in the late 60s/early 70s.