Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is Pure Sex-On-Wheels

 

 

By George Kennedy

             

 

Yesterday, we told you what it was like to drive the refreshingly pure Alfa Romeo 4C. The aggressive angles give way to a car that has minimal driver aids and a wonderful turbocharged engine.

 

Earlier in the week we pondered which classic Alfa Romeo was the spiritual predecessor to the 4C, and we left a glaring omission.

While I previously claimed that the 1955 Alfa Romeo 750 Competizione was the closest forbear to the 4C, it is the 1968 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale that is the true classic embodiment of what has been distilled. 

 

The 33 Stradale is a mid-engined sports car with sumptuous curves that could only come from an Italian automaker in the 60s.

“Stradale” is Italian for “Road-Going,” which is a name given to commercially available, street legal versions of race cars.

The Tipo 33 is a prototype style racer that competed in the 1960s and early 1970s. The Stradale is the road going version of that car.

Like the 4C, it has a mid-mounted small displacement engine. While the 4C has a 1.75L turbocharged I4 that makes 237 horsepower, the 33 Stradale featured a 2.0L

 V8 making 230 horsepower. 0-60 was achieved in 5.5 seconds on the way to a top speed of 160 mph.

Only 18 examples of the 33 Stradale were constructed and sold. In TopGear’s 100 Sexiest Cars List, the 33 Stradale was ranked at number 15. You can  see some of the elements of the 33 Stradale in the all-new 4C, such as the shape/placement of the headlights, and air intakes just aft of the doors. In all, both are fetching automobiles and the 4C was a dream to drive, but we just can’t stop looking at the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale.