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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale - beauty and speed in perfection

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Created on May 31, 2011

Reading time 7min

Written by:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

Daniel Reinhard

Bruno von Rotz

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Der Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale von 1968 gewann zurecht den Preis "Best of Show" am Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2011

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) am Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2011

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) - eines der schönsten Autos der Welt - der Prototyp ist an den doppelten Scheinwerfern und dem oben angeschlagenen Scheibenwischer zu erkennen

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) - attraktive Heckansicht des Prototyps

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) - Einstieg durch nach oben öffnende Türen

Bild von Partner Planai Classic 2025 Inline 1

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) - nach vorne öffnende Schmetterlingstüren als charakteristisches Design-Attribut

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) - funktionale Rundungen ohne Schnickschnack

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) - Formvollende Eleganz, Franco Scaglione hatte ganze Arbeit geleistet

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) - von hinten sieht man direkt in die Getriebemechanik

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale Prototyp von 1967 - eines der schönsten je gebauten Autos

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Techno Classica 2011 - Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (Prototyp) am Alfa Romeo Stand - interessant ist, dass der Scheibenwischer nicht (mehr?) oben angeschlagen ist

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Techno Classica 2011 - Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale stiehlt seinem modernen Nachkommen die Show

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) - an einer Ausstellung in den Achtzigerjahren

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) - gezeigt an einer Sportwagen-Ausstellung

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) am Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2011 - rennerprobter Achtzylinder-Motor mit Doppelzündung

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) - dieses Modell trägt kaum Chromschmuck

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Alfa Romeo 33/2 (1968) - Offener Sportprototyp in Aktion

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Alfa Romeo 33/2 Daytona (1968) - am AVD Oldtimer Grand Prix 2011

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Alfa Romeo 33 (1969) - Michel Weber auf dem Sport-Prototypen am Rossfeld (Berg-Europameisterschaft), Zweitschnellste Tagesbestzeit und schneller als die Abarth

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Alfa Romeo 33/2 (1968) am Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2011

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Alfa Romeo 33 TT 3 (1972) beim den 1000km Nürburgringring von 1972 mit Helmut Marko

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Pininfarina Alfa Romeo P 33 Roadster G.S. (1968) - aufsehenerregende Details wie Scheinwerfer und Flügel am offenen Sportwagen auf Alfa Romeo 33 Chassis

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Pininfarina Alfa Romeo P 33 Roadster G.S. (1968) - der Entwurf von Pininfarina orientierte sich sicher nicht an dem, was die Leute von damals als schön empfanden

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Pininfarina Alfa Romeo P 33 Roadster G.S. (1968) - der Entwurf von Pininfarina war extrem keilförmig für die Zeit und auf jeden Fall gewöhnungsbedürftig

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Pininfarina Alfa Romeo P 33 Roadster G.S. (1968) - aufsehenerregende Form des offenen Sportwagens auf Alfa Romeo 33 Chassis

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Bertone Carabo (1968) - Bertone Coupé auf dem Alfa Romeo 33 Chassis - Entwurf Marcellon Gandini

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Bertone Carabo (1968) - der extreme Entwurf auf Alfa Romeo 33 Chassis an der Ausstellung "Cultura e Progetto" in Turin im Jahr 1978

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Pininfarina Alfa Romeo 33 Prototipo Speziale (1969) - Studioaufnahme des aufregenden Entwurfs von Pininfarina nur geöffneten Flügeltüren

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Pininfarina Alfa Romeo 33 Prototipo Speziale (1969) - die wunderschöne Silhouette des aufregenden Entwurfs von Pininfarina auf dem Alfa Romeo 33 Chassis

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Pininfarina Alfa Romeo 33 Prototipo Speziale (1969) - hier an einer Ausstellung

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Pininfarina Alfa Romeo 33 Prototipo Speziale (1969) - Studioaufnahme des aufregenden Entwurfs von Pininfarina

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Pininfarina Alfa Romeo 33 Prototipo Speziale (1969) - Blick ins Interieur des Prototipo Speziale

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Ital Design Iguana (1969) - Giugiaros Entwurf auf der Basis des Alfa Romeo 33 Chassis

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Ital Design Iguana (1969) - Skizze von Giugiaros Entwurf auf der Basis des Alfa Romeo 33 Chassis

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Pininfarina Alfa Romeo 33 Spyder Prototipo Speciale (1971) - konsequente Keilform, fehlende Rundungen

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Pininfarina Alfa Romeo 33 Spyder Prototipo Speciale (1971) - aus dieser Perspektive sieht er fast aus wie ein Raumschiff von einem anderen Stern

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Pininfarina Alfa Romeo 33 Spyder Prototipo Speciale (1971) - kantig und kellformig kommt er daher

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Pininfarina Alfa Romeo 33 Spyder Prototipo Speciale (1971) - minimalistisches Interieur im Entwurf von Pininfarina

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Bertone Navajo (1976) - keilförmiger Entwurf auf der Basis eines Alfa 33 Chassis erbaut

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Bertone Navajo (1976) - trotz fehlender Rundungen weist der Prototyp auf der Basis eines Alfa 33 Chassis durchaus eine elegante Linienführung auf

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Bertone Navajo (1976) - auf der Basis eines Alfa 33 Chassis erbaut

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Bertone Navajo (1976) - Interieur des Prototyps, der auf der Basis eines Alfa 33 Chassis erbaut wurde

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Bertone Navajo (1976) - innovatives Display im Prototyp auf Alfa Romeo 33 Basis

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Bertone Navajo (1976) - Interieur des Navajo

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Bertone Navajo (1976) - mancher würde heute wohl einen Serienstradale auf demselben Chassis vorziehen, aber dieser Prototyp wies für die damalige Zeit eine revolutionäre Linienführung auf

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Summary

The absolute hit in a quartet of sports cars in 1968 was the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, because it was lighter than its competitors, more expensive and faster to accelerate from a standstill. However, it failed on the market and was only built in small numbers. It was not until many years later that this almost unearthly beautiful sports car received the appreciation it deserved. It won the coveted "Best in Show" trophy at this year's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este (2011). This report tells the story of the rare Milanese's origins, its brothers on the racetrack and on the designer stands at the motor shows, and recalls past experiences and adventures with the vehicle, richly illustrated and even supplemented with sound recordings.

This article contains the following chapters

Chassis numbers and information on individual vehicles
The most beautiful coupé of the sixties?
Almost unearthly performance
Actually a racing car with almost no compromises
The fast siblings from the racetrack
Not really suitable for everyday use?
The Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale as a movie star
Blurred production history
The chassis as a basis for design prototypes
Difficult to assess in terms of value
Further information

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

At this year's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este ( 2011), the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale won the coveted "Best in Show" trophy. It was entered in the category "the birth of the supercar". This classification characterizes the flat Italian as what it was: super-fast, super-exotic and super-expensive. Franco Scaglione created a monument to himself with the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale. The design is probably one of the most beautiful vehicles in automotive history and still impresses today with its balanced proportions and the clever combination of body curves and glass surfaces. The vehicle was not built by Alfa Romeo itself, but by Autodelta, a small factory set up by Carlo Chiti in the suburb of Settimo Milanese, which employed just 85 people in 1968. Autodelta's main business was building sports cars and supporting racing cars, especially GTAs and similar racing cars, around the world.

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