Alfa Romeo 4C Meets 33 Stradale

Alfa Romeo is known for producing distinctive and exotic-looking cars. You may know the 8C coupe or even the recent Spider concept. So it's a bit surprising to learn that when the production version of the Alfa 4C arrives in 2013, it will be only the second street-legal, midengined car ever built by the Italian manufacturer.

The other is the iconic 1967 Alfa 33 Stradale (the road-going version of the Tipo 33 racecar), a car so exclusive and rare that it makes the Ferrari 250 SWB (160 units built) seem positively mass-produced. Getting your hands on a 33, or T33 as it's often called, requires some serious due diligence along with about $2.5-3 million in cash.

By that ridiculous frame of reference, the Alfa Romeo 4C looks like the bargain of the century, as Alfa is claiming it will cost only $55,000-$62,000. We have our doubts, though, as the 4C shown at the Geneva Auto Show employed a carbon-fiber-intensive structure similar to the KTM X-Bow, and even with an off-the-shelf Fiat engine and transmission, it promises to be an expensive project.

How the 33 Stradale Got Into the 4C
For now, there's still only one 4C prototype — so by default it's a rarer car than even the coveted 33 Stradale — and it's entirely the responsibility of Lorenzo Ramaciotti, the quiet and knowledgeable head of Fiat design. As we talk to him, it's clear that the 33 Stradale is exactly the car he had in mind while he was working on the Alfa 4C.

"The first of these midengined sports cars were just beginning to appear when I was still studying at the Turin Polytechnic and the 33 was already influencing other designers," Ramaciotti explains. Then he draws our attention to the similarities between the 4C's rump and that of its 44-year-old predecessor.

"It is interesting that the highly edgy designs produced by Giugiaro and Bertone, in the shape of the Iguana and the Carabo showcars respectively, have been somewhat forgotten and that it's the original, more organic 33 (and possibly the '68 Stradale Pininfarina), that is of more influence now," he adds.

Influence from Pininfarina
The 63-year-old Ramaciotti knows what he's talking about, too: He was the design chief at Pininfarina from 1988-2005. When we press him on his favorite car designs, the Modena native smiles demurely, tries to change the subject and then concedes that of all the cars he saw through from concept to production, two stand out: the Ferrari 456 and the Peugeot 406 Coupe.

Given Ramaciotti's background, we imagine there must have been a strong temptation to make the Alfa Romeo 4C a full-on retro design. "We resisted that," he says, "because we wanted a car that sat very much in the design language of the 2010s."

We doubt many 33 Stradales ever ran a 0-60 in the 5s, as only 14 actually shipped out to customers.

However, there's little doubt the Alfa 4C owes its existence to Ramaciotti's tenure at Pininfarina. Back in 1992, he led the creation of the Ethos concepts — two small, lightweight, midengine sports cars with an aluminum structure and composite body panels. These concepts inspired the Lotus Elise, and now the 4C.

We Climb Into the Cockpits
Now it's our turn to sit in each of these rare midengined Alfas. Although low to the ground and a mere 40 inches tall, the broad-shouldered 33 Stradale appears large on the outside. Nevertheless, the greenhouse is snug, and we barely get a toe in the doorway before we realize our lanky frame simply won't fit. Too bad, as the simple, driver-oriented cockpit, with its three-spoke steering wheel and analog gauges, is a draw for any enthusiast.

Modern times dictate a taller profile for the Alfa Romeo 4C, but somehow it looks more compact than its forebear. Its cockpit isn't quite production-ready, either. Although we're able to shoehorn ourselves inside, the act of swinging our legs into the showcar's tailored bucket seats forces us to surrender our dignity. That's just what happens in a midengine sports car with a short 94.5-inch wheelbase.

Ramaciotti concedes that the production car's cockpit will have to grow to accommodate larger drivers. He hopes the Geneva showcar's motorcycle-inspired instrumentation will stay, though. We're with him on that one, as the instrument binnacle, complete with an oversized tachometer and a large LCD with trip information, has a strong flavour of Ferrari 458 Italia or even Ducati about it.

From a V8 to an Inline-4
They won't let us fire up the engine, so we're left to speculate about its character. Ramaciotti will not confirm the final horsepower and torque figures for the turbocharged and direct-injected, 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, but tells us that the overall weight-to-power ratio should be somewhere around 8.8 pounds per hp. A six-speed, dual-clutch automated manual gearbox will send power to the rear wheels.

If you believe Alfa's rather improbable 1,875-pound curb weight claim, the horsepower-to-weight ratio works out to an engine with about 210-215 hp. Since we're sceptical of the final curb weight, we expect the engine will probably deliver more like 240-250 hp in a car that weighs 2,100-2,200 pounds.

Alfa officials say they expect the 4C to hit 60 mph in under 5 seconds on its way to a top speed of 155 mph.

For reference, the old 33 Stradale next to the 4C weighs in at a mere 1,540 pounds. Back in the day, its fuel-injected, 2.0-liter V8 was rated at 230 hp at an incredible 8,800 rpm. A six-speed manual gearbox drives its rear wheels, and the car was reportedly capable of hitting 60 mph in 5.5 seconds.

A Sports Car for Driving, Not Collecting
We doubt many Alfa 33 Stradales ever ran a 0-60 in the 5s, though, as it's said that only 14 actually shipped out to private customers. Three more were used as showcars, while this 33 in front of us has lived most of its life in the studio.

The 4C may be only the second midengined Alfa Romeo, but it's destined for a different fate than the 33. It's going to be a mass-produced car built under the Fiat empire, and there's very little chance Alfa will stop the run when number 18 rolls off the line.

The Alfa Romeo 4C will likely never have the rarity of the 33 Stradale, and that's a good thing: Sports cars are meant to be driven, not stashed away in some climate-controlled garage. If we're lucky, the 4C might even come Stateside, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Portions of this content have appeared in foreign print media and are reproduced with permission.