Alfa Romeo Tipo 33

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The Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 was a sports racing prototype raced by the Alfa Romeo works team between 1967 and 1977.

A small number of road going cars were derived from it in 1967, called Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale. The number was also used in the 1980s for the unrelated Alfa 33.road car,

1 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33
2 Alfa Romeo 33/2
3 Alfa Romeo 33/3
4 1972 and 1973
5 Alfa Romeo 33 TT
6 Alfa Romeo 33 TT 12
7 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] Alfa Romeo Tipo 33

The 2000cc (122ci) Tipo 33 mid-engined prototype debuted on 12 March 1967 at the Belgian hillclimbing event at Fléron, with Teodoro Zeccoli winning. It was powered by a 1995cc (122ci) 90° V8 of 270hp (201kW), with a large-diameter tube frame. The original T33 proved unreliable and uncompetitive in the World Sportscar Championship, its best result a 5th at the Nürburgring 1000, co-driven by Zeccoli and Roberto Bussinello.

[edit] Alfa Romeo 33/2

In 1968, Alfa's subsidiary, Autodelta, created an evolution model called 33/2. A road version, dubbed Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, was also introduced. At the 24 Hours of Daytona, the Porsche 907 with 2.2L engines were dominating the overall race, but Alfa took the 2-litre class win, with Udo Schütz and Nino Vaccarella, a win repeated at the Targa Florio, where Nanni Galli and Ignazio Giunti also took second place overall, followed by teammates Lucien Bianchi and Mario Casoni. Galli and Giunti then won the class at the Nürburgring 1000km, where the 2.5L version finished for the first time, 4th place in the 3.0L class with Schütz and Bianchi. However, in most races, the Alfa drivers were outclassed by their Porsche rivals which used bigger engines. In 1968, the car was used mainly by privateers, winning its class in the 1000km Monza, Targa Florio and Nürburgring.

[edit] Alfa Romeo 33/3

In 1969 at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Alfa Romeo 33/3 made its debut. The engine was enlarged to 2998cc (183ci) with 400hp (298kW), which put the 33/3 in the same class as the Porsche 908 and the Ferrari 312P. The chassis was now a monocoque. After a dismal 1969, in 1970, the bigger 5.0L Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512 dominated, yet Toine Hezemans and Masten Gregory took third overall at Sebring, and Andrea De Adamich and Henri Pescarolo won their class in the 1000km Zeltweg, finishing second overall. Also in 1970, an Alfa T 33/3 was one of the "actors" of Steve McQueen's movie "Le Mans", released in 1971.

In 1971, the Alfa Romeo racing effort was finally successful. Rolf Stommelen and Nanni Galli won their class at the 1000km Buenos Aires (followed by De Adamich and Pescarolo), before taking another class win (and second overall) at Sebring. De Adamich and Pescarolo later won outright at the 1000km Brands Hatch, a significant against the "invincible" 917s. They were then taking a class win at Monza (where Alfa Romeo took the three podium slots in the prototype class) and another one at Spa. At the Targa Florio, Vaccarella and Hezemans won outright, followed by teammates De Adamich and Gijs Van Lennep. Hezemans and Vaccarella won their class at Zeltweg, and De Adamich and Ronnie Peterson won overall at Watkins Glen.

[edit] 1972 and 1973

In these years, the 5L sports car were banned. The 3L cars of Alfa, the Ferrari 312PB and the Matra challenged for outright victories now. See Ferrari 312#1971-1973_312PB_sports_car for a report.