Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale Roars Sounds Like the Automotive Industry's Swan Song

My frequent readers will remember that I recently wrote about how the automotive industry's passion is lost. It's been ages since a car last made young boys dream of the day they would have a driver's license, which is probably why we have so many nostalgic products and even old nameplates coming back as SUVs all the time. When I wrote that, I did not remember the new 33 Stradale, but this car was also a strong reinforcement of that reasoning. Why did a company such as Alfa Romeo need to bring one of its most iconic names back to life instead of creating something new that was at least just as extraordinary, perhaps more? Why live from the past when what truly matters is the present?

Alfa Romeo tried to break free from heritage with the scudetto in the Junior, formerly called Milano, and that did not go well. The problem was not replacing the traditional symbol. It was doing that with the ugly stylization attempt the small SUV introduced. Even die-hard fans of the Italian brand have to admit how hideous that thing is, like these modern buildings that look like Lego blocks replacing architectural works of art in cities all over the world. It is as if we have lost our sense of aesthetics, and everything we create reflects that decay.

In that sense, the new 33 Stradale could be the exception that confirms the rule if it was not a faithful recreation of something we have already seen. Its roar is not a manifestation of its soul but rather a borrowed voice from something that already exists. Again, it is a nostalgic beauty that denounces we cannot do anything remotely comparable or even better these days. Why have we lost that capability? Perhaps we didn't, but there is just no room for that anymore.

Think about the great automotive brands from the past. Enzo Ferrari created his passenger vehicles to finance his race cars. Ferruccio Lamborghini allegedly started making supercars to teach Enzo a lesson. Colin Chapman wanted to offer regular drivers the feel of a race car. The closest we have from that nowadays is Gordon Murray and his car company, which gifted us with the impressive T.50. But that's it. Who else is doing anything remotely similar? No one. When legacy car companies pretend to do so, it sounds phony.

When Alfa Romeo revealed the new 33 Stradale, it was obvious it was based on the Maserati MC20, a car that was already for sale. Yet, the new Alfa is still in dynamic development. What is there to develop in an automobile already on the streets? Would that be an excuse to try to convince us that this is a completely new car, even if it is not? Would that development be solely for the electric version of the 33 Stradale? We'll probably never know. But there is more.

If you check the video Stellantis released of the 33 Stradale's "voice," you'll see the images come from a computer animation. It is not a video from the real deal, which would be much better, even if it were covered in that typical camo wrap we see in spy photos. After all, it is a matter of credibility. If the sound comes from the engine, why present it with the aid of software? Just put a camera inside the engine bay if you do not want to reveal what... has already been presented! Does it make any sense? Perhaps only if the computer animation was ready and cost less than hiring a video crew. Bean counters are always around, right?

After watching the computer animation with the 33 Stradale roar, YouTube suggested me an Eckhart Tolle video about appreciating life without getting attached. Curiously, he mentions his cars in it, such as a Lada he had when he lived in England. Tolle then tries to mention a Ferrari Testarossa as an example of attachment, and he says Ferrari Testosterone instead, which is a pretty funny and telling moment in his explanation. The author of "The Power of Now" eventually explains what attachment means. Anyone who said they were not attached or identified with such a Ferrari would have to be in peace if it was scratched or stolen. Most people would not be that way, not only because it is a valuable good but also because they derive a sense of identity from this vehicle. People will use the 33 Stradale for the same goal: to express "who they really are."

Just think about it: what is the purpose of a $3-million 1.23-m tall two-seater? It is either to attract attention with a vigorous roar (as Tolle says in his video) or to derive some sense of importance from such an expensive car. You may also be so rich that you just want a new toy, especially one that only 32 other people can have, but it has no practical objective (and there is no problem whatsoever with that). Sadly, the 33 Stradale drives our attention to the fact that the automotive industry really lost its creativity and has to use an existing platform, a classic design, and a name from the past to pretend it still has it. It is a rolling "museum of great novelties," as a singer once said. There is nothing truly new about it.

Tolle teaches that the power of Now is to accept all things exactly as they are: an influx of impermanence. That's Enlightenment, something I would love to achieve. While I do not get there, I just have to admit the current state of the automotive industry frustrates me. Buddhism preaches that this is because of our expectations. Perhaps we should have none, particularly when it comes to current cars.