Alfa Romeo unveils 33 Stradale flagship supercar

MILAN -- Alfa Romeo has revealed the 33 Stradale, a limited-edition “halo” sports car inspired by the 1967 33 Stradale that was derived from the Tipo 33 sports-racing model.

The 33 Stradale was unveiled Wednesday at an event at the Stellantis brand’s museum in the Milan suburb of Arese. Alfa Romeo will build 33 examples, and all have already been sold, the automaker said. The price was not disclosed.

The cars will be assembled by the coachbuilder Touring Superleggera, whose shop is close to the Alfa Romeo museum.

Larry Dominique, senior vice president of Alfa Romeo in North America, said the super car “allows the world to be reminded of what Alfa Romeo can do.”

But the debut of the 33 Stradale doesn’t mean Alfa Romeo is going to move into the high-priced world of sports car makers such as McLaren.

“We’re approachable,” Dominique told Automotive News. “We've always been an approachable brand. We're going to stay that way, but it doesn't mean we can't show what we can do from an agility point of view, or when we want to do something unique or one-off.”

The 33 Stradale has similar specifications to the Maserati MC20. It will be powered by a 3.0-liter, V-6 twin-turbo engine producing more than 620 hp, an evolution of the 2.9-liter, V-6 engine used in high-performance Alfa Romeo models such as the Giulia Quadrifoglio midsize sedan and Stelvio Quadrifoglio midsize crossover. 

A battery-electric version is also coming, with more than 750 hp and a range of more than 450 km (280 miles).

Both versions have a 333 kph (206 mph) top speed and can accelerate from 0 to 100 kph (0 to 62 mph) in less than three seconds. There are two drive modes, a softer road setting and a race-oriented track one.

The 33 Stradale is built on an aluminum H-frame and carbon fiber monocoque structure, which Alfa Romeo says combines rigidity and lightness; with the same aim, the roof structure has been engineered in carbon fiber and aluminum, with front-hinged doors that open upward. The window frames are also made of carbon fiber, while the rear window is polycarbonate. 

The double-arm suspension has active shock absorbers, and the front axle can be lifted to clear road obstacles. Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes are activated by wire.

The 33 Stradale is the first new Alfa Romeo model revealed under design chief Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos, a former design head at Seat and Dacia who joined the automaker in June 2021.  

Alfa says the 33 Stradale’s styling is the epitome of the brand’s “necessary beauty” philosophy, combining technology and aesthetics. 

The front end’s sinuous shapes are typical of Alfa Romeo, as is the scudetto (shield) grill. Gullwing-style doors enhance accessibility and ergonomics, Alfa Romeo says. At the rear, the car’s “brutal” essence is defined by a truncated tail.

Alfa Romeo says a drag coefficient of 0.375 Cd is achieved without the assistance of active devices such as movable wings.

The interior is available in the Tributo configuration, a homage to the historic car with leather and aluminum accents, and in the sportier Alfa Corse, which uses carbon fiber and Alcantara.

The driver experience has been “totally purified of all the interactions required in a conventional car,” Alfa Romeo says. The steering wheel has no buttons on it, just aluminum shift paddles.

A limited number of controls can be found on the center console; as in an airplane cockpit, more controls are located on a higher plane, in the central lining on the inside of the roof.

Alfa Romeo says each example of the 33 Stradale has been built to the owner’s specifications, with custom requests subject to the approval of the “33 Committee,” a group of executives from various departments, including engineering, design and motorsport. 

“This is the brand's first custom-built car since 1969, and I promise it won't be the last,” CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato said in a news release ahead of the presentation.

Alfa first used the 33 designation in the mid-1960s for a sports-racing model; later Alfa Romeo 33s won the world sports-car championship in 1975 and 1977.

A street-legal model, the T33 Stradale, was a rear-engine, rear-drive, two-seat coupe powered by a 230-hp, 2.0-liter V-8 derived from Alfa's 33 racecar. Alfa built just 18 units of the 33 Stradale after its 1967 launch.

Vince Bond contributed to this report.