Name this car....

[Ivan Goriup]

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That's an original 1967-69 Alfa-Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale Coupe.

What a wonderful machine.......one of Alfa's & Scaglione's finest efforts.

JZG

 

[stuny]

Of course, Ivan has gotten it, and probably would have even without that crisp Idaho air.  It's one of my all-time favorite cars, which ALFA brought to the NY Auto Show at least twice.  I've included photos of it from two years, including their lovely representatives from two years.  I look forward to what Ivan will next present

 

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[ramarren]

Who's trying to distract us motorheads with those young women? 😂

Lovely car! 🚀😎

G

[Graham (G4FUJ)]

And a very pleasing distraction they are too!

[Ivan Goriup]

I think it's fair & accurate to claim that the Alfa-Romeo Tipo 33 series of cars from the mid to late 1960s marks the beginning, the first of what we today call 'Supercars'.  One of the defining essential characteristics of this class of automobiles is that there must not be any obvious evidence of restraint or any detectable trace of a rational business plan in the creation of cars that are designed without regard for limits, rather, solely for appeal and to play exclusively to passion and desire...purity and artistry, nothing else.

Powered by the first ever V8 from Alfa-Romeo, an all aluminum, 1995 c.c., 90 deg., dry sump affair with four chain-driven overhead cams, SPICA fuel injection, twin plugs per cylinder, a flat- plane crank, producing about 270 HP at 8500 rpm ( detuned to about 230 hp  in road trim for the Stradalefor for the sake of longevity and reliability), all coupled to a Collotti 6-speed all-synchro box, the car bristled with innovation in just about every area: mid-engine location, magnesium extrusion frame members among a steel tubing space frame, twin A-arm suspension front and rear, ultra short wheelbase ( extended by 190 centimeters for the Stradale )....ad infinitum.

Combine the ground-breaking chassis / powertrain choke-full with Carlo Chiti  / Autodelta ideas and engineering with Franco Scaglione's exquisite, mature and painfully beautiful styling ( the first use of the now ubiquituous 'scissor doors' ) paint it red, add the magnificent Campagnolo gold-painted cast wheels and it's easy to understand why the Stradale brings out the emotions & hyperbole Alfistas have for these wonderful little machines.

Sadly only 18 of these jewels were ever made (with a handful being given away by A-R to Italy's top carrozzerias to create A-R concept cars) because sales were so few and very far between, since the price was a totally unreasonable US $ 17,000, almost the equivalent of a Series 2 Ferrari GTO, when they were new. I cannot recall when I last heard of a Stradale coming up for sale or auction, and when they do we're talking several millions.

This next mystery car is a far cry from the Stradale, in fact these two car probably could be viewed as the bookends of available sports cars at the time. One, an ultimate model from a very capable and renowned creator of winning sports cars of the foregoing 40 years, the other by a relative newcomer to the ranks of car makers, entering a new-to-them field of automotive manufacturing, namely sports cars.

Please pardon the image quality, but this is a greatly enlarged small crop of a hurriedly taken Leica V-114 image.

The usual data, if you please.

JZG

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[stuny]

Ivan -

It looks like we could use some help.

[Ivan Goriup]

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Let's see if this helps. The crop above shows what is essentially the upper half of the car, and now let's add the lower half. I can't show the front / grill area.....that would be too easy.

JZG

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[wlaidlaw]

Is it a Daihatsu Copen? 

Wilson

[Ivan Goriup]

Correct country, but not the correct manufacturer.  The car shown in crops above predates the Copen by almost 50 years.

However, since the automobile industry is in constant flux and makers come and go, it so happens that the manufacturer of my 'puzzle car' above absorbed Daihatsu a few years ago, who are now a subsidiary.

JZG

[wlaidlaw]

Toyota Sports 800 65-69. 

Wilson

[Ivan Goriup]

Correct, Wilson. It is a Toyota Sports 800, that company's first attempt at a 'sports car'. Lightweight, small, powered by an opposed two-cylinder front-mounted motor driving the rear wheels it was capable of about 140kph in the later twin-carb version. If I remember correctly a total of approx. 3000 were built altogether during the year 1985 through '69, with one each L.H. drive sample going to the thirty or so U.S. dealers, who didn't think they could ever sell them in the US. The only noteworthy fact that I recall about this thing is that Toyota beat Porsche to the market with a 'Targa Top' (a removable roof panel that could be stored in the trunk for 'top down' motoring) that was a standard feature on this model, the prototype of which in 1963 featured a sliding roof/canopy ala P-051 Mustang.

This is the  only image I have of this car, taken with an old and worn out V-114.

Over to you and a Merry Christmas to all.

JZG

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Edited December 20, 2024 by Ivan Goriup

[wlaidlaw]

As usual open to anyone with a suitable image.

On the targa top front, I think the first example was on the Triumph TR4 in 1961. My neighbour had a TR4 Targa that he drove about once a year. I have not seen it for some time, so I suspect he has sold it. This was before Standard Triumph amalgamated with BMC and made some interesting cars like the Triumph Herald, TR4, 2000 etc. 

Wilson

[stuny]

On our second visit to Japan, I saw one of these in a car port on Miyajima Island and wondered what it was.  In spite of its low power, I'll bet they could have sold quite a number of them in southern California, had the dealers been willing to try.

[wlaidlaw]

I wonder if the flat twin engine was inspired by Citroen or Panhard? 

Wilson

[stuny]

Who would like to step in for Wilson and post the next mystery car?

[stuny]

Let's try this one.  All the usuals, please.

 

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[a.j.z]

Dodge?

[stuny]

Dodge is correct.  Keep going.

[a.j.z]

A Viper, 5th Generation (around 2015)?

Edited December 22, 2024 by a.j.z

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[stuny]

Exactly correct.  Here are some photos of those crude, brutish cars.  Photos look better than the actual car, which "in the metal" look like they are from a cartoon.

Your turn.

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