Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale


Manufacturer Alfa Romeo
Production 1967–1971
Assembly Milan, Italy (Carrozzeria Marazzi)
Class Sports car
Body style(s) 2-door coupe
Layout Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive
Engine(s) 2.0 L V8
Transmission(s) Colotti 6-speed manual
Wheelbase 2,350 mm (92.5 in)
Length 3,970 mm (156.3 in)
Width 1,710 mm (67.3 in)
Height 991 mm (39.0 in)
Curb weight 700 kg (1,543 lb)
Related Racing car: Alfa Romeo Tipo 33
Concept cars:
Alfa Romeo Carabo
Alfa Romeo 33.2
Alfa Romeo Iguana
Alfa Romeo Navajo
Designer Franco Scaglione

The Stradale, first built in 1967, was based on the Autodelta Alfa Romeo T33 racing car. The car, designed by Franco Scaglione, and built by Carrozzeria Marazzi, made its debut at the 1967 Turin Motorshow.

Built in an attempt by Alfa to make some of its racing technology available to the public, it was the most expensive automobile for sale to the public in 1968 at US$17,000 (when the average cost of a new car in 1968 was $2,822).

The Stradale is believed to be the first production vehicle to feature dihedral doors, also known as butterfly doors. The Stradale also features windows which seamlessly curve upward into the 'roof' of the vehicle.

The race-bred engine bore no relation to the mass-produced units in Alfa's more mainstream vehicles. Race engineer Carlo Chiti designed an oversquare (78 mm bore x 52,2 mm stroke) dry-sump lubricated 1,995 cc (121.7 cu in) V8 that featured SPICA fuel injection, four ignition coils and 16 spark plugs. The engine used four chain-driven camshafts to operate the valve train and had a rev-limit of 10000 rpm. The engine produced 230 bhp (172 kW) at 8800 rpm in road trim and 270 bhp (200 kW) in race trim.

In another break from convention, Alfa used a six-speed transaxle gearbox by Valerio Colotti.

The car takes 5.5 seconds to reach 60 mph (96.56 km/h) from a standing start and has top speed of 260 km/h (160 mph).

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