1968 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale

The Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is an extremely rare and cool road car built by Alfa Romeo. Only 18 are reported to have been made, plus three design studies based on the 33 Stradale the 33.2, Iguana and Carabo.

The Stradale, first built in 1967, was based on the Autodelta Alfa Romeo T33 racing car. The car, designed by Franco Scaglione, and built by Carrozzeria Marazzi, made its debut at the 1967 Turin Motorshow.

Built in an attempt by Alfa to make some of its racing technology available to the public, it was the most expensive automobile for sale to the public in 1968 at US$17,000 (when the average cost of a new car in 1968 was $2,822).

The Stradale is believed to be the first production vehicle to feature dihedral doors, also known as butterfly doors. The Stradale also features windows which seamlessly curve upward into the 'roof' of the vehicle.

The race-bred engine bore no relation to the mass-produced units in Alfa's more mainstream vehicles. Race engineer Carlo Chiti designed an oversquare (78 mm bore x 52,2 mm stroke) dry-sump lubricated 1,995 cc (121.7 cu in) V8 that featured SPICA fuel injection, four ignition coils and 16 spark plugs. The engine used four chain-driven camshafts to operate the valve train and had a rev-limit of 10000 rpm. The engine produced 230 bhp (172 kW) at 8800 rpm in road trim and 270 bhp (200 kW) in race trim.

In another break from convention, Alfa used a six-speed transaxle gearbox by Valerio Colotti. The car takes 5.5 seconds to reach 60 mph (96.56 km/h) from a standing start and has top speed of 260 km/h (160 mph

Unlimited “Limited Editions” of Cars in India

An age old-trick to boost sales, auto manufacturers launch “limited edition” variants of their existing models topped up with accessories, refurnished interiors, cosmetic changes in design and style. Maruti Suzuki has recently launched a limited edition variant of Alto – Maruti Alto Flash. The new car comes with improved features and enhanced style. It features front power windows, stylish graphics, leathered seat covers, body-color feather touch mirrors, bumpers, door handles and boy mould. It also included free accessories worth Rs. 18,500.

The year 2009 has already witnessed launch of several “Limited Edition” models from various car manufacturers. General Motors had recently launched Limited Edition variant of Chevrolet Aveo. The special edition Chevrolet Aveo mid-size sedan comes with several new features which improve safety and comfort further. These include anti-lock brakes, airbag for driver, illuminated key cylinder, rear armrest with cup holders, leather gear shifter, steering wheel, and upholstery, height adjust feature on driver’s seat, and elegant chrome door handles inside and outside. The car is priced in the same price range of existing Aveo model in the market.

Toyota Kirloskar Motors has limited edition variant of the Altis - the Corolla Altis Sport in June this year. The car was targeted towards the young, enthusiastic car buyer several interesting features like an aerodynamic front and rear bumper spoiler, a stylish headlamp garnish, sleek side skirts and special rear LED spoilers. Maruti Swift Glam was also launched earlier this year which was “limited edition” model of Maruti most popular hatchback Maruti Swift. The Glam model was mainly considered as “stock clearance” from Maruti before they introduce their new engine in the upcoming models of Maruti Swift.

Honda Siel Cars India Limited had also launched limited edition variant of Honda Civic which was mainly a sports variant. The new variant featured 1.8 L i-VTEC engine and was offered in manual transmission only. It also featured unique sporty features with front under-spoiler, side under-spoiler, rear under-spoiler and a trunk-spoiler along with all the luxury and driving comforts of existing Honda Civic.

Besides this limited edition, Honda also launched its brand new model Jazz recently. The car raised quite an interest amongst buyers but failed to bag huge sales volume due to its costly price tag. Even after the limited edition models, Honda Jazz offers unique luxury and maximum driving comfort that remain unmatched with any other model in the small car segment.