Alfa Romeo 33/2 Speciale

Vehicle Overview

This car is one of the 6 dream cars based on the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale chassis built by the most famous Italian coachbuilders between the 1960s and 1970s. The coupé that was unveiled at the Paris motor show in October 1969 and was Pininfarina‘s attempt to reuse the Leonardo Fioravanti project that gave life to the Ferrari P5, presented at the Geneva motor show the previous year and then abandoned due to the low level of satisfaction met in Maranello and the new technical standards established for the Sport Prototype World Championship which de facto excluded the Ferrari 330 P4. Compared to the P5, the 33.2 is its direct descendant since the body line is that of the Ferrari P5 adapted to the chassis of the 33 Stradale, albeit with various modifications. Among these, the most important are concentrated in the tail with also a different front and color, a very bright yellow, as well as construction details designed for the production of the car in small series, such as the retractable headlights and the front hood that can be opened on the cockpit. It was one of the last dream cars with curvilinear strokes before the boxy lines of the 1970s took hold In general, the design was characterized by convex and concave volumes that intersect with sharper lines than those of the 1960s although still quite curved. The prototype is equipped with a low and concave front, with a narrow slot for the ventilation of the radiator with the Alfa Romeo trilobo between the two ovoid-shaped fenders, in which position lights and retractable headlights are integrated, and with two vents of the hot air from the radiator on the hood. The profile does not change compared to that of the P5, except for the elliptical engine air intakes that stretch to form a low spoiler, now without grilles and with a coat of arms with the four-leaf clover incorporated in the center of the door, keeping the fenders elongated ovoid and concave wheel arches. The rear part, on the other hand, was revolutionized by abandoning the original horizontal grilles in favor of a more classic solution, with horizontally developed rear lights and matte black split bumpers separated by an engine ventilation grille on which the license plate is housed. As on the P5, the roof is almost completely transparent, even the glass rear bonnet leaves the engine exposed, with the exception of the two roll-bars joined by a longitudinal transverse element, which acts as a supporting structure for the gull-wing doors operated. hydraulically equipped with windows that curve up to the roof of the car. The interior is upholstered in brown leather and beige carpet, with seats in leather and tartan fabric; the leather-covered steering wheel is the same as on the Tipo 33 racing, behind which the speedometer and rev counter are housed while the five secondary instruments are positioned in the center of the dashboard. The prototype is equipped with the same 1,995 cm³ double-ignition V-shaped 8-cylinder engine as the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, capable of delivering 230 hp at 8,800 rpm, centrally positioned and coupled to a 6-speed manual gearbox . Pininfarina’s 33 Speciale Prototype Coupé did not have a productive following and, like the other dream cars based on the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale chassis proposed by the best Italian coachbuilders, it is kept at the Alfa Romeo Historical Museum in Arese.