1968 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale

The Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is an extremely rare and cool road car built by Alfa Romeo. Only 18 are reported to have been made, plus three design studies based on the 33 Stradale the 33.2, Iguana and Carabo.

The Stradale, first built in 1967, was based on the Autodelta Alfa Romeo T33 racing car. The car, designed by Franco Scaglione, and built by Carrozzeria Marazzi, made its debut at the 1967 Turin Motorshow.

Built in an attempt by Alfa to make some of its racing technology available to the public, it was the most expensive automobile for sale to the public in 1968 at US$17,000 (when the average cost of a new car in 1968 was $2,822).

The Stradale is believed to be the first production vehicle to feature dihedral doors, also known as butterfly doors. The Stradale also features windows which seamlessly curve upward into the 'roof' of the vehicle.

The race-bred engine bore no relation to the mass-produced units in Alfa's more mainstream vehicles. Race engineer Carlo Chiti designed an oversquare (78 mm bore x 52,2 mm stroke) dry-sump lubricated 1,995 cc (121.7 cu in) V8 that featured SPICA fuel injection, four ignition coils and 16 spark plugs. The engine used four chain-driven camshafts to operate the valve train and had a rev-limit of 10000 rpm. The engine produced 230 bhp (172 kW) at 8800 rpm in road trim and 270 bhp (200 kW) in race trim.

In another break from convention, Alfa used a six-speed transaxle gearbox by Valerio Colotti. The car takes 5.5 seconds to reach 60 mph (96.56 km/h) from a standing start and has top speed of 260 km/h (160 mph

Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss

British legend's name given to final editions of the SLR supercar. Mercedes-Benz has revealed details of an exclusive SLR inspired by British motor racing legend, Stirling Moss. Only 75 will be made, each costing €750,000 (£710,810).

The SLR Stirling Moss is a roofless and windowless version of the Mercedes SLR McLaren Roadster, featuring a supercharged, 5,439cc V8 engine developing 650bhp. It accelerates from 0-62mph in less than 3.5 seconds and has a top speed of 217mph.


Moss won many racers for Mercedes in its SLR racers during the 1950s and this tribute to his sublime skills recalls the sleek 300 SLR in which he and Denis Jenkinson famously won the 1955 Mille Miglia road race in Italy during a record-breaking drive from Brescia to Rome and back. The pair’s average speed was almost 98mph.

Like the series production SLR, the bodywork is made from carbon-fibre, with the bonnet continuing into the passenger compartment. Minuscule wind deflectors protect the two occupants from the airflow, while air scoops integrated into the bodywork behind the seats serve as roll-over bars. The SLR Stirling Moss also has a larger rear diffuser than that fitted to the SLR Coupe and Roadster.

There’s also an airbrake to aid deceleration from high speeds, which deploys during heavy braking from speeds above 75mph.

The minimalist interior features carbon-fibre, aluminium-alloy and fine leather, with an aluminium-alloy plate engraved with Moss’s signature situated by the gearlever.

Production of the SLR Stirling Moss will begin in June 2009, when the standard SLR ceases production, and the run of 75 examples is expected to be completed by next December.