Hello, you. Are you one of the 33 people eagerly awaiting the delivery of your new, extra-special retro-styled Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, nervously biting your fingernails and waiting to find out just how fast it goes? Well, you can relax, because we have an answer: 207mph.
That was the top speed Alfa was targeting for the car, and it’s the top speed it’s just achieved as the 33 Stradale – named and styled in honour of the staggeringly valuable mid-engined road racer of the 1960s – has wrapped up its dynamic testing programme.
The venue for this feat was the fearsome Nardo Ring, a chuffing massive 7.8-mile banked circle of tarmac set in the stiletto heel of the enormous geographical boot that is Italy. It’s a bit like a bigger version of the Millbrook proving ground in Bedfordshire, just with nicer weather. And food. The speed confirms – if there was ever any doubt – that the 33 is a proper supercar, and just in case you needed convincing a bit more, it’s also knocked out a 0-62mph time of “under three seconds.”
Handily, Alfa has also released a video of the 33 doing its thing at Nardo, with the telltale 333kph – 206.917mph, if we’re being very specific – visible on the speedo as it hammers around the circuit. Given a big enough straight, it could theoretically go even faster – as Nardo is one continuous corner, it’s unlikely to ever show a car’s true top speed.
Still, 207mph is nothing to sniff at, but what about the noise? The 33’s 3.0-litre, 612bhp twin-turbo V6 is essentially a lightly evolved version of the 2.9-litre unit found in the Giulia Quadrifoglio, and while it’s a more than excellent engine in a sports saloon, the jury’s still out as to whether it’s a fitting engine for a bona fide supercar.
Then again, it’s probably better than the planned electric version of the 33, which Alfa is curiously quiet about in its press release. Instead, it talks about things like active exhaust valves, the rapid shifts of the eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox, and the 33’s launch control mode, which here is called Partenza Veloce (Quick Start), because everything sounds better in Italian.
Alfa Romeo techs work on the 33 Stradale
It’s almost like the people dropping upwards of £1.4 million on a limited-edition Alfa Romeo supercar want it to have a proper engine. Funny, that. The first of the 33 lucky (and wealthy) so-and-sos getting one of these – an Italian, natch – will receive it next month.
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