Part Three of Six – Alfa Romeo Racing Icons Series

 

1970 saw the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/3 Spider evolve into a much shorter and much more brutal track attacker. Switchable noses include the lamp-free style shown here.

A fairly brutal and chopped style appears at the front and rear of this Alfa racecar, with less of the glamourous design of the Sports Racer 33 that came before it.

The changes worked on the racing circuit – with this Spider earning numerous race wins and ranking between Porsche and Ferrari in the top three points for the Le Mans season.

 

 

1970 Alfa Romeo TT3 Spider

 

RM Auctions

London

8-9 September 2013

Lot 244

1970 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/3

To be auctioned on Monday, September 9, 2013

Sold for £392,000

• Chassis no. AR 75080 010

440 bhp, 2,998 cc V-8 engine, five-speed manual gearbox, independent front and rear suspension with double wishbones, coil springs, and anti-roll bars, and four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes. Wheelbase: 2,240 mm

• Entered in the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans under Autodelta

One of the most storied racing teams of all time, Alfa Romeo is a company deeply tied to its racing heritage. Its exploits on the race track are legendary and include numerous wins at such great international motorsport events as the Targa Florio, Mille Miglia, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Countless great drivers have graced the cars from Milan, including Tazio Nuvolari, Louis Chiron, and Enzo Ferrari.

Autodelta, a company established by ex-Alfa Romeo and Ferrari engineer Carlo Chiti, formally joined forces with Alfa Romeo in 1963, with the purpose of restoring Alfa Romeo’s motorsport teams to the former levels of success they experienced prior to the Second World War. One of Autodelta and Alfa Romeo’s finest creations was the Tipo 33/2, created in 1968 to compete in the World Sportscar Championships. The year 1968 witnessed a series of significant results for the 33/2, with the car taking 2nd overall at Daytona and decimating its competition at Le Mans, as it took 1st through 3rd in its class, which was good for 4th, 5th, and 6th overall. By 1969, Alfa’s engineers had learned much from their experiences with the 33/2 and released the car’s replacement, which would go on to be one of Alfa Romeo’s most celebrated sports car racing platforms, the Tipo 33/3.