THE GODFATHER PART II

Alfa only has one full-blooded mid-engined supercar in its back catalogue... this makes it two

- JACK RIX

AS I CIRCLE THE STRADALE BATHET IN SPRING SUNSHINE in the courtyard of Alfa’s Balocco test track, I'm confused. My primal instinct is to sink to my knees and kiss its tyres while making grunting noises and flamboyant hand gestures. This, after all, is a bright red Italian supercar with an Alfa badge on it, but I can’t stop thinking about those painfully glamorous fashion shows where models glide up and down the catwalk in artfully torn bin bags, the great wall of celebs watching on, enthralled by the genius of Jean-Paul Poopier’s winter collection. How much does the weight of a brand, or a designer, cloud your judgement?

We are programmed to believe Alfas are beautiful, and this is a modern take on arguably Alfa Romeo’s (and therefore the world’s) most beautiful car. Could it ever be anything other than knee quiveringly attractive? For that reason I’m on the fence, for now. Some context: the original 33 Stradale from the 1960s (designed by Franco Scaglione) was a road version of the Tipo 33 racer. Scaglione was a designer with such treats as the Alfa BAT cars and Lamborghini 350 GTV on his CV - but the 33 was his Mona Lisa and only 18 of them were ever made. In recent times we’ve had the rather lovely and very noisy 8C, and the rather less lovely 4C, but the 33 Stradale is the only proper, full fat mid-engined supercar in Alfa’s back catalogue. You can see why a modern resurrection is kind of a big deal.