Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale: The Courage to Dream
Do you see what I see? The reflection is not an exact match. Clever! And it wouldn’t look nearly as good the other way around.
by Cristiano Fioiro et al
“It is not uncommon for carmakers to invest significant sums of money to create a concept car intended to fuel a vision of the future. In our case, the situation was a bit different. Not only did we want to make a concept car, but—unlike what happens in the vast majority of cases—we also wanted to sell it.”
The 33 Stradale of the 1960s became a storied name in the Alfa Romeo model line-up. The modern-day 33 Stradale is an homage to that car, and this book is an homage to the people who designed and built it. And kind of a tip of the hat to the 33 customers who took out their checkbooks years before there was an actual car to buy. If you like what you see here, don’t bother raising your hand for one . . . all 33 cars are spoken for. The purpose of this book, then, is not to drum up sales but to show the world, in the words of one of the recurring themes, that Alfa has the Courage to Dream . . . If we build it, they will come.
Count the fingers. Are they flashing a secret signal? Three and three, as in 33 Stradale. These are some of the marketing, communications, product, motorsport, and design folks.
This book was released right on the heels of this model’s first public US showing, at the 2025 Monterey Car Week. Only 5 or 6 are going to US buyers so even if the planets align and you encounter one in the flesh, you will want to have internalized this book to appreciate the backstory.
And another clever layout treatment: the old car morphing seamlessly into the new. Look how much bigger wheels have become!
There have been several features in the press/media already, meaning there exists independent third-party commentary but what it is lacking is access to the inner sanctum whereas this book is compiled by the carmaker itself. Unless you’re in the habit of reading the Impressum page you couldn’t know that because the tiny “Alfa Romeo Official Product” sticker on that page is the only giveaway. Well, if you know the Stellantis Group’s corporate flowchart well enough you might notice that all the people who wrote pieces for this book are company folk, from the CEO on down: Santo Ficili, Jean-Philippe Imparato, Daniel Tiago Guzzafame, Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos, Jean-Pierre Ploué, Eligio Catarinella, Lorenzo Ardizio, and Stradale Project Lead (and former F1 head) Cristiano Fioiro. And let’s not forget “Client Number 1,” Umberto Belotti. This sort of roster does make for a particular type of highly curated, upbeat book but where else would ordinary mortals turn for a glimpse behind the curtain?
Many of the photos on these oversize 11.7 x 13″ pages take good advantage of the space available. That many images are new to the record is a given, especially the work-in-progress shots from inside the design studio, ditto design drawings.
A synopsis of the original 33 Stradale tees up the genesis of the new one. Sufficient detail is offered to understand the goals and hopes inside Stellantis and also the bureaucratic and regulatory parameters/obstacles that surround the creation of a type of supercar that is quite without precedent at Alfa Romeo. Specs and performance goals are discussed, as is developmental and road testing (by F1 driver Valtteri Bottas who owns one himself). As each of the 33 customer cars will have enough bespoke features to be classified as one-offs the book concentrates on Alfa’s own development prototype which is not as tricked out. The notion that the 33 Stradale is only a gussied-up Maserati MC20 is quickly put to rest, not least by the vastly higher price tag!
An interesting comparison between what Alfa Romeo did build (above; bottom right: the first Italian delivery went to Susanna Raganelli, the first and to this day only female world champion in an FIA-accredited World Championship. It didn’t hurt that her dad was an Alfa dealer.) and what ideas they were exploring concurrently (below).
If you understand Alfas you know that top speed is not the point, but driver engagement and driving pleasure are. A book can’t really convey the latter in anything more than a superficial manner but you can find on-boards and also hear the car on the Stellantis media website. And remember, the select few potential buyers to whom the idea of this car was presented around 2022 (which, mind you, was when Covid was still on full boil) also didn’t have hard specs but they shared the dream, and now they’re part of history.
Speaking of smart design. Since this book is an homage to the people behind the car, their names are set in a circle surrounding an Alfa logo modified into a heart shape.
This is a very fine book in every regard; no Index, though, which is in keeping with this publisher’s MO but so are the top-notch paper, printing (admirably fingerprint-resistant), and smart design; see right.
PS: If you were too late to snag a new Stradale, and not rich enough for the 1960s original (only 18 were built, now worth millions), there’s still one way to get that model into your garage: an R33, a modern “millimeter-perfect” limited-edition replica of the 1967 Tipo 33. Hand-built by Pristine Panel Works in Britain with modern running gear, materials, and construction techniques. If there’s ever a book about it, we’ll review it.
Copyright 2025, Sabu Advani (speedreaders.info).
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