Miguel Sánchez
"La meccanica delle emozioni". This is the motto that Alfa Romeo uses today. A good summary of what the company has been throughout its 111-year history. Creating an identity based on sportsmanship and design rather than cold business logic responsible for the success of sister companies like FIAT. For all this, Alfa Romeo features high-octane narrative episodes. A pleasure for any motor enthusiast, whether they are alfista or not. Since it is easy to be seduced by stories like that of the Type 33.
Racing cars in production from 1966 to 1977, with which Alfa Romeo sought to return to the top in the racing world. Especially in the various events of the World Endurance Championship, with events such as Le Mans, Sebring, Daytona, Nürburgring or Targa-Florio in the sight. A complex goal due to the contemporary appearance of the impressive Ford GT40, Porsche 917 and Ferrari P4.
Something that, however, did not deter Alfa Romeo from winning constructor victory in the 1975 World Endurance Championship. A feat accomplished thanks to the 33TT12. The model equipped with a 12-liter flat 3-cylinder. Very far from the approach of small two-liter V8 engines that defined the Type33 in its beginnings.
Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale in the design of Franco Scaglione
However, the intricate evolution of the Alfa Romeo 33 took place especially in competition, since in terms of the version for sale to the public there was only one: the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale from 1967. One of the few examples in which the street version is the result of the competition version. What's more, served as the basis for some of the best style exercises of the moment. One of them is the Alfa Romeo 33 Cuneo. Masterpiece signed by Paolo Martin for Pininfarina, which is now half a century old.
ALFA ROMEO 33 STRADALE. 18 CHASSIS FOR SEVEN DIFFERENT DESIGNS
Although it is impossible to decide, the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is possibly the most elaborate creation of the brand. Accepted today as one of the clearest precedents of the supercar concept, this model stems directly from the racing experience of the Type 33. A race car approved for driving on the street, for which it received the nickname of Stradale. In addition, while its refined V8 mechanics sit on a neat H-chassis, the bodywork signed by Franco Scaglione gives rise to one of the most beautiful and hypnotic sports cars of all time.
A growing legend due to the fact that Alfa Romeo donated five of the eighteen chassis manufactured from November 1967 to March 1969 to three of the best Italian bodybuilders of the moment. As a result of this, apart from Scaglione's design for the units produced by Alfa Romeo 6 more appeared. All of them fundamental masterpieces to understand the transition from the wavy design of the sixties to the wedge design of the seventies. The foundation for better aerodynamic results, but also for models as diverse as the Lamborghini Countach or the Maserati Merak.
Beyond the influence achieved thanks to these models with the Alfa Romeo 33 as a base, the truth is that the Milanese company managed to place its name next to that of the avant-garde of the moment. While Giorgetto Giugiaro with Italdesign launched the Iguana in 1969, Marcello Gandini made a huge impact with his two versions of the Alfa Romeo 33 at Bertone. The 1976 Navajo and, above all, the 1968 Carabo with the scissor doors. Possibly his most influential styling exercise alongside the 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero.
33 Iguana, by Italdesign 
33 Carabo, by Bertone 
33 Coupé Speciale. By Leonardo Fioravanti for Pininfarina
PININFARINA: TWO CHASSIS AND THREE BODIES
When Pininfarina received the two chassis that had been entrusted to it, it assigned them to two of its leading designers. A cast that reaped excellent results in both cases, although with very different final aspects. And it is that, while the 33/2 Coupé Speciale by Leonardo Fioravanti sublimates the lines marked by Aldo Brovarone in the prototype of the Dino 206 GT ... Paolo Martin's 33 Roadster explored in 1968 the possibilities of a rectilinear wedge crowned with a futuristic spoiler that acts as a safety arch.
First of two designs by Paolo Martin on the same chassis. 1968 roadster
A groping with the design increasingly glued to the ground, which had its climax with the introduction of the Ferrari Module in 1970. Without a doubt the most experimental creation of Paolo Martin. Who is also responsible for the Lancia Beta Montecarlo, the FIAT 130 Coupé or the Peugeot 104. A creative torrent that led him to disassemble the body of his 1971 Roadster in 33 to make way for the Alfa Romeo 33 Spider. Concept in which the wedge design is taken so to the extreme that the Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese itself, where it is deposited, named it with the nickname "Cuneo".
Beyond its refined lines, details such as the eight tailpipe tailpipes - one per cylinder - represent one of the pinnacles in Pininfarina history. Not as advanced as others since this type of rectilinear design was already raised three years before, but it was extremely refined. Something that makes the 33 Alfa Romeo 1971 Cuneo one of the best exponents of the revolution of the wedge design. The movement that left behind the schemes of the fifties and sixties to face the next two decades with renewed airs.
Photographs: FCA Heritage
