Guide: Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 — Supercar Nostalgia

Apr 5

Apr 5 Guide: Alfa Romeo Tipo 33

Alfa Romeo - Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 - Autodelta - 1960s Italian Cars - 1960s Sports Prototypes - Group 6 1966-1971

Background

Autodelta, run by former Ferrari designer, Carlo Chiti, became Alfa Romeo’s official motorsport partner in March 1963.

The first Autodelta product, the Tubolare Zagato (TZ), was a 1.6-litre GT racing car launched in late 1963 and which, over the next couple of seasons, proved an enormous success. The TZ2 arrived in early 1965 and was followed by the Giulia-based GTA hot rod for 1966. Both cars continued to enhance Autodelta’s burgeoning reputation.

In 1966, the FIA revamped its racing categories. The GTA was built for the Group 3 Grand Touring class which required a production run of 500 units.

Next up was the Group 4 Sports category that needed 50 examples to qualify.

Group 5 was for Special Touring cars which were highly modified versions of production cars that had already been homologated in Group 1 (5000 units) and Group 2 (1000 units).

Further up the scale was Group 6 for Prototype sports cars. This class had no minimum production requirement but Group 6 vehicles still had to be equipped with everything required for road use (e.g. lights and a spare wheel).

Finally, Group 7 had no limitations on engines, tyres, aerodynamics or dimensions and pretty much anything was permitted so long as the car had two seats and fully enveloped bodywork.

The World Sportscar Championship was organised for Group 4 and Group 6 vehicles.

After two seasons with the TZ2, Alfa Romeo wanted to move up to the next level. They commissioned Autodelta to create a mid-engined Group 6 Prototype to contest the two-litre class of the World Championship. This would be a fiercely contested category against opposition from Porsche (906 and the forthcoming 910), Ferrari (Dino 206 S) and Alpine (A210).

A mid-engined Alfa racing car had been under consideration almost as soon as the TZ2 had been finished and, in January 1966, the first Group 6 ‘muletto’ appeared in a secret test session at Monza. It initially had a nose and four cylinder engine from the TZ2. The V8 motor would not be ready for bench tests until February.

In May 1966, the little V8 was finally shoehorned into the ‘muletto’. Intensive tests followed at Alfa Romeo’s Balocco proving ground.

Engine & Gearbox

Designed by Autodelta from the ground up, the extremely compact 90° V8 displaced 1995cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 78mm and 52.2mm respectively. The block and hemispherical heads were cast in light alloy. The crankshaft ran on five bearings. Valves were operated by a pair of chain-driven overhead camshafts for each bank of cylinders.

Although the Autodelta V8 initially ran one plug per cylinder with a single distributor and four Weber 46 IDF2 carburettors, the engine was quickly uprated with twin plug heads, four ignition coils and Lucas fuel-injection.

Dry-sump lubrication was employed and, with an 11.0:1 compression ratio, peak output was 256bhp at 9000rpm.

Transmission was via a Colotti six-speed gearbox, ZF limited-slip differential and hydraulic single-plate clutch.

Chassis

This jewel of an engine was mounted longitudinally in a large diameter aluminium tubular spaceframe chassis with a 2250mm wheelbase. The two light alloy sidemembers doubled up as fuel tanks, Magnesium front and rear subframes were installed to carry the suspension, engine, gearbox and differential.

Suspension was via wishbones, helical springs and anti-roll bars with radius rods also installed at the back. Fully adjustable telescopic dampers were fitted all round along with ventilated disc brakes (outboard at the front, inboard at the rear).

13-inch diameter magnesium wheels were shod with Dunlop CR70 tyres. The wheels measured 8 and 9-inches wide front to rear.

Bodywork

The chassis was cloaked in a pretty fibreglass body designed in-house at Autodelta.

Opening front and rear clams were hinged at either end. Single headlights were mounted underneath clear plastic covers. The nose-mounted grille was embellished with a decorative aluminium surround and Alfa Romeo shield.

Initially, there were neither supplementary headlights nor brake cooling ducts in the nose. However, openings were soon made to accommodate both features. Front winglets could also be fitted when required.

Two large vents were cut from atop the front lid which enabled hot air to escape from the radiator.

The domed windscreen gave excellent visibility. The windscreen profile was matched by a slim rollover bar located above the rear bulkhead.

The rear deck was lower than the flowing rear wings and incorporated a huge snorkel-type airbox to feed the injection system and inboard rear brakes. Behind the airbox were a pair of teardrop blisters located above the rear shock mounts that enabled greater suspension travel. These were soon opened up at the leading edge to further improve cooling.

A Kamm tail housed two circular lights. A pair of megaphone exhausts poked out from underneath.

Weight / Performance

All told, the Tipo 33 weighed in at 580kg.

Top speed was somewhere in the region of 170mph.

Production

Eight Tipo 33s were manufactured but, because Autodelta’s record keeping was remarkably haphazard, identifying which chassis was used at which race is practically impossible.

VINs ranged from 750.33 001 to 750.33 008.

Competition History

Testing began at Alfa’s Balocco proving ground and moved to Monza in early January of 1967. Teodoro Zeccoli crashed one of the new cars at Monza and, although he escaped unhurt, the car caught fire and was destroyed.

During the first week of March, the Tipo 33 was revealed to the press at Balocco but no weight or power outputs were quoted.

1967 Fleron Hillclimb

Autodelta opted for a low key debut at the Fleron Hillclimb on March 12th (round one of the Belgian National Championship).

The event took place on a 2.3km course between Trooz and Foret. Two Tipo 33s were taken for Zeccoli to practice with.

The lower geared example was used on race day when Zeccoli set a new course record and won by 0.2 of a second from the five-litre Traco Oldsmobile-powered McLaren M3A of Harry Zweifel. Charles Vogele was third in his 2.7-litre Coventry Climax-engined Brabham BT23B. Both the McLaren and Brabham were open wheel single seaters.

After Fleron, the two Alfas were taken directly to Zolder where Andrea de Adamich continued the test programme.

1967 Sebring 12 Hours

A pair of Tipo 33s were then flown out to Sebring for the 12 Hour race on April 1st (round two of the 1967 World Sportscar Championship).

Zeccoli and de Adamich shared one of the cars while Roberto Bussinello and Nanni Galli were in the other.

Both Tipo 33s featured openings for either auxiliary driving lights or brake cooling ducts but they were blanked out for this event.

Ferrari and Porsche were also in attendance at Sebring. The German team arrived with a pair of 906s and two 910s. The 910 had made its debut at Daytona in early February. Although there were no works Dinos, four of Ferrari’s satellite teams were on hand, each with one 206 S.

In practice, the de Adamich / Zeccoli Alfa proved fastest of the two-litre Prototypes and went ninth quickest overall. Porsche’s 910s were tenth and eleventh. The best of the Dinos was that of Scuderia Brescia Corse in twelfth. The second Tipo 33 of Bussinello / Galli was 21st.

The start saw de Adamich storm into a short-lived lead as the hot weather caused his Alfa’s ignition parts to overheat. As a precaution, the Bussinello / Galli entry had a new distributor fitted, but the problem persisted and this car retired after 36 laps. A couple of hours later, the de Adamich / Zeccoli entry was out with suspension failure.

Despite the double retirement at Sebring, both cars had shown considerable promise - the speed was undoubtedly there, but reliability would need to be improved.

1967 Le Mans Test

One week later, a trio of Tipo 33s attended for the annual Le Mans Test which took place over the weekend of April 8th and 9th. A full roster of drivers was present: de Adamich, Zeccoli, Bussinello and Galli were joined by Ignazio Giunti, Jean Rolland and Enrico Pinto.

Porsche entered a pair of 907s but there were no Dinos present. Alpine ran their A210s with 1.3-litre engines. The only other opposition would come from Matra with their new M630.

One of the three Alfas present was fitted with new long tail bodywork. This ’Coda Lunga’ featured a streamlined rear deck that followed the contour of the cockpit and ran smoothly down to a spoilered Kamm tail. As the snorkel air intake had been discarded, cooling scoops were added to the leading edge of the rear fenders. Another new feature was partially enclosed rear wheels.

The other Tipo 33s ran standard bodywork and variously had either nose-mounted brake cooling ducts or supplementary driving lights.

Of the Alfa drivers, de Adamich went quickest in the ’Coda Lunga’ . His time was good enough for tenth overall and fastest in the two-litre Prototype class. Next up was Bussinello in twelfth overall and second in class driving the first of the standard-bodied examples. The third Tipo 33 was taken along primarily for a shakedown; Zeccoli drove it to 25th overall and fifth in class.

Third fastest in the two-litre Prototype class was the new BRM-powered Matra M630 driven by Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Roby Weber. However, late on day one, Weber was tragically killed when his car (running incorrect tyres and suspension settings) went out of control down the Mulsanne Straight. It struck the barriers, rolled several times and burst into flames. Poor Roby Weber was killed on the initial impact.

1967 Targa Florio

Six weeks elapsed between the Le Mans Test and the Tipo 33’s next outing at the Targa Florio (round five of the World Championship). During this time, Alfa had skipped the 1000km races at Monza and Spa.

Autodelta entered four cars, all with standard short tail bodywork. The streamlined tear drop bulges on the rear deck had now been opened up to direct air into the combined transmission and differential oil cooler.

None of the cars ran front winglets, but there was some variation in the size of the nose-mounted brake cooling ducts. The machine entered for Nanni Galli / Ignazio Giunti had large inlets while those of Andrea de Adamich / Jean Rolland and Jo Bonnier / Giancarlo Baghetti ran small inlets. The fourth Tipo 33 of Giacomo Russo / Nino Todaro did without any.

Porsche arrived with no less than six 910s of which three were running in the two-litre class with six cylinder engines. Ferrari took a solitary works Dino with a 2.4-litre engine but were backed up by the works assisted NART and Scuderia Nettuno outfits with single entries apiece for the two-litre class. Alpine also had a trio of their A210s.

Once again, de Adamich proved the quickest of the Tipo 33 drivers in practice while Bonnier struggled with gear selector problems. Worryingly, all four cars experienced fractured front suspension top links and two broke completely. Without enough time to make any proper modifications, Autodelta decided to wrap the offending parts with a wire bandage to prevent total collapse should a break occur during the race.

The Targa Florio comprised ten laps of the 72km Little Madonie circuit. For 1967, the weather was dry and extremely hot.

Initially, the Tipo 33s ran at a very impressive pace, but it was not long before problems arose.

Bonnier retired on lap two with a broken left-hand suspension top link.

By lap three, the Sicilian heat was becoming excessive and Alfa’s engines were losing a lot of oil. Nevertheless, de Adamich / Rolland were holding onto second overall and harrying the lead Porsche. This continued until another suspension failure put them out of the race on lap eight.

Shortly afterwards, Russo went off the road and damaged his sump too badly to continue.

The Galli / Giunti Tipo 33 was still running at the end, although it had struggled with another failing distributor. This car completed nine laps but was not classified for finishing outside of the time limit.

1967 Nurburgring 1000km

Despite all four cars having problems in Sicily, Autodelta felt they had learned enough to be competitive at the Nurburgring 1000km in two weeks time. Three cars were entered for de Adamich / Galli, Russo / Baghetti and Bussinello / Zeccoli. However, compared to the Porsche squad, Alfa’s drivers lacked circuit knowledge.

Porsche’s trio of two-litre class 910s qualified sixth, seventh and eighth while the Alfas were eleventh (de Adamich / Galli), 14th (Bussinello / Zeccoli) and 16th (Russo / Baghetti). The only two-litre Dino was that of Scuderia Filipinetti which crashed and caught fire in practice. Alpine did not attend.

During practice, variously sized front brake cooling inlets were trialled and then opened up as much as possible for the race. The session had seen the front suspension break again on de Adamich’s car. The failure occurred through the tricky Brunchen curve. The Alfa ended up between the barriers and a bank but fortunately did not sustain too much damage.

The race comprised 44 laps of the 22.8km circuit.

Russo was out after just five circulations with gearbox problems. Next to go was the de Adamiich / Galli entry which lasted for 18 laps before the dreaded front suspension failure struck once more.

Both de Adamich and Galli joined the Bussinello / Zeccoli car for the remainder of the race and, although none of the Alfa drivers could match Porsche’s pace, the sole remaining Tipo 33 finally lasted a full race distance. It finished fifth overall, one lap down on the lead trio of two-litre 910s that placed first, second and third.

1967 Le Mans 24 Hours

Despite the good result in Germany, Autodelta decided to withdraw their three car entry for Le Mans in two weeks time. They felt the Tipo 33’s suspension, engine and gearbox were still not sufficiently sorted for a 24 hour race.

1967 Rossfeld Hillclimb

Over the next few weeks, Autodelta concentrated on hillclimbs and contested rounds of both the European Mountain Championship and the domestic Italian series. However, in the European competition, there was no escaping the Porsche juggernaut; the German team had built special 910 Bergspyders just for the job.

In the hands of Gerhard Mitter and Rolf Stommelen, the Berspyders had smashed the opposition in the opening round at Montseny on May 21st. They would go head-to-head with the Alfas on June 4th at Rossfeld for round two.

Whereas the Tipo 33s were still in pure Group 6 trim, the 910 Bergspyders were more like Group 7 cars which meant Alfa Romeo were disadvantaged to the tune of around 100kg.

Two short tail cars were taken, one for de Adamich and the other for Galli, both of which featured newly enlarged twin headlight cowls although only one lens was actually installed per side. From now on, this lighting arrangement would become standard.

After practice, each driver made two runs up the 5.9km South German course with final positions decided on aggregate times. Stommelen took victory while de Adamich did amazingly well to split the Porsches and finish second for Alfa. Mitter was third in the second 910 Bergspyder and Galli was fourth.

1967 Monte Pellegrino Hillclimb

Three weeks later, Autodelta entered Nanni Galli for the Monte Pellegrino hillclimb in Sicily which was a round of the domestic Trofeo della Montagna.

For this event, a pair of long tail cars were trucked south (one as a spare). The ’Coda Lunga’ back end had been updated since the Le Mans Test by removing the section that previously shrouded the tops of the wheels.

Without Porsche to worry about, Galli took outright victory on the 8.75km course. Second went to the privateer Ferrari Dino 206 S of Clemente Ravetto. Alfonso Vella was third in his Abarth Simca 2000.

1967 Cesana-Sestriere Hillclimb

Having skipped the European Mountain Championship rounds at Mont Ventoux and Trento Bondone, Alfa returned for the Cesana-Sestriere Hillclimb on July 17th.

Two cars were taken for Nanni Galli to choose from and he used both in practice. The first was the ’Coda Lunga’ used to win at Monte Pellegrino whereas the second had been further uprated towards full Group 7 trim. This Tipo 33 featured a new cut down windscreen and modified short tail bodywork. The snorkel air intake had been deleted and the injection intakes now poked through an aperture in the flattened rear deck. At least two of these updated rear clams were used, one of which also had ’Coda Lunga’-style air scoops mounted at the front of each rear wing.

Despite much attention paid to shedding weight, the Tipo 33 still didn’t ride as well as the Porsches.

On his third practice run, Galli blew a tyre. The car touched a kerbstone, leapt into the air and landed upside down. Galli was unhurt and Autodelta used the spare car for race day.

Unfortunately, Galli was hampered by a yellow flag which lost him a few seconds and, unable to run again, he finished third overall behind the 910 Bergspyders of Stommelen and Mitter respectively.

1967 Mugello GP

One week on, Autodelta returned to action for round eight of the World Sportscar Championship: the 500km Mugello GP.

This event comprised eight laps of a 66.2km road course. Both Alfa and Porsche arrived several days early to practice. Autodelta took a trio of Tipo 33s for Andrea de Adamich / Nanni Galli, Lucien Bianchi / Ignazio Giunti and Colin Davis / Spartaco Dini.

All three cars ran the ’Coda Lunga’ bodywork which had been updated with cooling vents above the fastback rear deck plus a variety of small intake snorkels. Additionally, the front clips had been modified with a dramatically enlarged main grille. Wheelarch extensions were required to accommodate wider rims.

Early issues in practice saw all the Tipo 33s in the pits with punctured nearside rear tyres caused by the bigger wheels. Autodelta reverted back to the original size, but the steering and suspension problems experienced earlier in the year continued.

Alfa’s problems were nothing compared to Ferrari. The first day of official practice on Saturday had seen Gunther Klass go out in the works Ferrari training car: a Group 7 Dino. 15 miles round the course, Klass left the road through a bumpy kink and hit a tree sideways at around 60mph which practically split the car in two.

Gunther Klass died of his injuries shortly after he was put in the helicopter which had arrived at the scene within minutes of the accident. Ferrari withdrew from any further participation in the event.

The race saw all the Tipo 33s retire which extended the model’s poor endurance racing record. First out was the Davis / Dini entry with broken steering. The suspension then collapsed on both the de Adamich / Galli and Bianchi / Giunti machines. By mid distance, there were no Tipo 33s left.

Porsches finished first, second and third.

1967 Chamrousse Hillclimb

One week after the disappointment of Mugello, Jean Rolland was entered for the Chamrousse Hillclimb on July 30th. The event was a round of the French national championship and took place over a 17km course in the Belledonne mountain range near Grenoble.

Rolland’s Tipo 33 was a ’Coda Lunga’ with a standard height windscreen and the regular un-flared front wings (the flares seen at Mugello would not be used again).

Although Johnny Servoz-Gavin’s works Matra MS7 F2 car proved too quick for the Alfa, Rolland finished second overall to win the Prototype class. Third spot went to the Porsche 906 of Robert Buchet.

1967 Mont Dore Hillclimb

Rolland then contested another round of the French championship two weeks later at Mont Dore in the Auvergne region. He used the same car as before and finished third overall behind the winning Abarth 2000 OT of Pierre Maublanc and Buchet’s Porsche 906.

1967 Ollon-Villars Hillclimb

For 1967, the Ollon-Villars Hillclimb (August 27th) was the penultimate round of both the World Sportscar Championship and the European Mountain Championship.

One Tipo 33 was entered for Silvio Moser. It was in the same short tailed configuration with cut down windscreen as seen at Cesana-Sestriere. The only upgrade was a pair of prominent front winglets.

Moser was not happy with the car’s performance. He considered it too heavy and, having practiced, decided not to appear on race day.

Once again, the 910 Bergspyders proved unstoppable as Mitter took victory from Stommelen. Dieter Quester finished third in his BMW-powered Lola T110.

1967 Sarezzo Lumezzane Hillclimb

A dramatically upgraded Tipo 33 was then wheeled out three weeks later for the Sarezzo Lumezzane Hillclimb in Brescia on September 17th. This was another round of the domestic Trofeo della Montagna.

Autodelta attended the event with a long tail Tipo 33 sporting an entirely redesigned front clip. It featured a more contemporary nose treatment with single covered headlights and a lower, flatter leading edge. The car also had wider wheels and bigger shoulder-mounted air intakes.

Peter Schetty took victory on the 8.5km climb in his Abarth 2000 SP and Nanni Galli finished three seconds adrift in the reworked Tipo 33. Third spot went to the Scuderia Brescia Corse Ferrari Dino 206 S of Marsilio Pasotti.

1967 Montlhery Tests

The same day as the Sarezzo Lumezzane Hillclimb took place, Jean Rolland tested a Tipo 33 at Montlhery in anticipation of an outing at the Paris 1000km in mid October.

Unfortunately, tragedy ensued when the Frenchman’s car left the road at the Curvette de Couard.

The Alfa hit a tree and caught fire. Jean Rolland was trapped in the wreckage and died from his injuries later that day.

1967 Vallelunga Trofeo Bettoja

Alfa Romeo’s first generation Tipo 33s only made one more competitive appearance in 1967. It came at the non-championship Trofeo Bettoja on October 14th.

Held over 35 laps of the Vallelunga circuit, the Tipo 33s finally came good as both cars lasted the distance.

The 33s ran in long tail configuration with full height windscreens. Andrea de Adamich took the Tipo 33’s only circuit victory of the year. He led Ignazio Giunti’s sister car across the finish line while third-place went to the Porsche 910 of Carlo Facetti.