Stradale (was: a V8 engine?)

["John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@domain.elided>]

Responding to the question "Did Alfa Romeo ever make a car with a V8 engine?",
Zak McGregor mentions among others "the 33 Stradale - of which less than 20
were made in total. A few show cars based on the 33 Stradale were also
produced (Carabo, Iguana, Coupe 33, Cuneo)". That could be interpreted as less
than twenty, plus four.

Fusi gives a flat "eighteen", and lists five show cars, not four - the Carabo,
Iguana, and three Pininfarina bodies presented in 1968, 1969, and 1971.
Pininfarina in at least one other case, the 6C 3000 CM, presented several
different showcar bodies in different years on a single chassis, and my guess
would be that he may have done more than one show car on a single chassis; he
missing one is his first. The museum catalogs list the Carabo, Iguana, and two
of the three Pininfarina bodies (the coupe and the Cuneo wedge, omitting the
first Pininfarina 33, a different wedge roadster) and also has the later
Bertone Navajo, which has a 33 Stradale engine but a slightly longer wheelbase
and wider track, and may or may not be a modified 33.

The standard Stradale body was designed by Scaglione and built by Marazzi;
d'Amico & Tabucchi mention that "As the 33 Stradale was produced straight at
Autodelta, there is no official Alfa Romeo production record." ("Poiche la 33
Stradale venne prodotta direttamente dall'Autodelta, l'Alfa Romeo non possiede
il registro di fabbricazione.") Which is a new twist on the "yes but is it a
real Alfa Romeo?" question; an Alfa Romeo which the company has no record of
having built. There is apparently a record of the serial number of the first
one, according to d'Amico & Tabucchi -75033.101 -  but it seems to be the only
"production" Alfa for which the company does not have a detailed record of the
serial numbers. John de Boer gives serial numbers for nine cars - 001, which
he says was a prototype, 101, 102, 103, 106, 109 (the Carabo), 110, 111, and
133 (?). So there are still loose ends, and may yet be one or two to be found
in barns -

John H.
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