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  Alfa Romeo 33/2 Daytona 2.5 Litre      

  Article Image gallery (23) 75033.015 Specifications  
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Country of origin:Italy
Produced in:1968
Numbers built:30 (all 33/2 versions)
Internal name:Tipo 33
Author:Wouter Melissen
Last updated:April 09, 2012
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Click here to download printer friendly versionCompleted late in 1966, the first Alfa Romeo 33 was not shown to the media until March of the following year. The car sported a 'Spider' body with a periscopic engine intake that earned it the nick-name 'Periscopica'. The new car made a victorious debut at the Fleron hill climb in Belgium. Despite the long gestation period, the new 33 still proved fragile and failed to impress in international events that year. Additional victories were scored in hill climbs and also in a minor race at Vallelunga. Meanwhile development continued at Autodelta, focusing mostly on reliability and a more efficient body design. At Mugello a differently styled Spider was used but this remained a unique machine.

Over the winter, Autodelta worked diligently to ready the updated '33/2' not only for the works team but also for privateers. The mechanical specification remained virtually identical as in 1967 with reliability still the biggest concerns. The 33/2 did sport a brand new coupe body, which has gone into history as the 'Daytona' following the updated 33's debut at the March 1968 Daytona 24 Hours. Rule changes had caught Alfa Romeo out as a new three-litre prototype class was introduced, which replaced the earlier under and over two-litre classes. Porsche had responded and fielded 2.2 litre cars at Daytona, which duly won. The three Alfa Romeos that started did finish and in a promising 5th, 6th and 7th.

Over two dozen 33/2s were built in 1968 and raced with considerably more success than the original had done a year earlier. Meanwhile, larger versions of the V8 were developed by Autodelta. A 2.5 litre, 315 bhp was introduced halfway through the season and was also made available to some of the customers. The 24 Hours of Le Mans was not held until September and four special coupes were readied with long tails and the original two-litre engines (Le Mans still had a two-litre class). Three of the works cars reached the finish in 4th, 5th and 6th, sweeping the class podium in the process. VDS also entered two cars but they, like the fourth works car, retired with mechanical failures.

For 1969, Chiti and his men started with a clean sheet and developed the 33/3, which featured a full monocoque chassis an a full three-litre version of the V8. Many of the privateers continued to race the 1968 vintage 33/2s for several more seasons all around the world. Sweeping the two-litre class podium was the crowning achievement for the first generation Alfa Romeo 33 prototype racers. The name would be applied to several further evolutions, culminating in the flat-12 engined variant that clinched the 1975 World Championship. Today these early mid-engined Alfa Romeo prototypes are highly sought after and most of the survivors are part of prominent collections.

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  Article Image gallery (23) 75033.015 Specifications