LINE OF BEAUTY

Inspired by one of the most beautiful cars of all time, the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is here — and we've driven it

- JAMES TAYLOR

HERE'S A NOVEL THOUGHT. DOES IT actually matter what the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is like to drive? Only 33 cars will be built, and despite being priced at around 1.7million euros (before taxes), the production run is sold out. It doesn't really exist in the 'normal' car universe; it's a machine launched into the weird, extraordinary orbit of the ultra-wealthy. Perhaps some owners will drive their 33 Stradales far and wide, but it would be understandable (and unsurprising) if the cars spend much of their time tucked away in secure, climate-controlled storage. And perhaps the fact that a brand-new Alfa Romeo supercar exists, in 2025, is special enough. If it's merely okay to drive, that would be, well, okay, wouldn't it? Because, look at it. Under the sunlight here at Alfa Romeo's Balocco test track in northern Italy, it's a spellbinding object to behold.

Of course what it's like to drive matters. If it turned out to be a show pony without substance - a synthesised, auto-tuned cover version of the original 33 Stradale of the 1960s - it would undermine the history, the romance, the sense of occasion that makes it desirable in the first place. So, good news: on-track, with sun-warmed air coursing through the vents artfully carved into the Stradale's haunches, brawny turbocharged V6 soaring to its red line, and low-lying nose pointed at the snow-capped horizon, the 33 feels very good to drive indeed.

But before delving deeper into the driving experience, it's worth delving into the backstory. Alfa Romeo's designers and engineers have presumably been sketching ideas for mid-engined supercars from time immemorial because that's what passionate car people do, but why has Alfa as a company - or more accurately, the board at the Stellantis parent-company mothership - taken the decision to make it a reality now?