Alfa Romeo 33 1.3s

For many people in the eighties, the Alfa Romeo 33 was their first encounter with Italian temperament. An affordable family car with a boxer engine, a wilful character and a chassis that, on a twisty back road, made you forget you were actually just pottering along in the compact mid-size class. Hardly the car anyone expected, back then, to become a rarity forty years later. Quite the opposite, in fact: most examples were simply driven into the ground and eventually sent to the scrapyard.

The undersigned, too, once began his motoring life with an Alfa 33. A red Sportwagon, to be precise. Not the most obvious choice for a first car, but certainly one that let the Alfa virus take hold for good. Because anyone who has felt how such a lightweight Italian, with its low-set boxer engine, carves through a bend understands exactly why Alfa Romeo enjoys such a devoted following.

The Alfa Romeo 33 arrived in 1983 as the successor to the Alfasud. That earlier car had earned Alfa Romeo an outstanding reputation when it came to driving pleasure, but sadly a rather less impressive one when it came to rust resistance. With the 33, a new course was set. Most of the Alfasud's engineering was retained, including the characteristic four-cylinder boxer engine, but the bodywork took on a more modern, more angular shape that fitted the eighties perfectly.

The result was a compact family car that behaved impeccably in everyday traffic, yet on a winding back road suddenly made it clear there really was an Alfa Romeo up front.

The 33 sold in respectable numbers at the time, but just try finding a decent one today. Where a Giulia, Spider or GTV was often carefully cherished, the 33 was, for most owners, simply a tool. It took them to work, it ferried the children to school, and in the end most examples quietly disappeared from the streets. Not because they didn't deserve enthusiasts, but because no one back then could have imagined a humble Alfa 33 ever becoming a rarity.

And then, all of a sudden, one like this turns up.

This 1987 Alfa Romeo 33 1.3 S is, you see, a remarkably well-preserved example with just 17,400 kilometres on the clock and a history almost as interesting as the car itself. Since new it has had only two owners. The first was an Italian gentleman from Aversa, just outside Naples, who took delivery of his new Alfa from the local dealer in June 1987. The original warranty certificate and delivery documentation are still present, as is the record of the first complimentary service in October 1987, when the odometer showed a mere 1,351 kilometres.

The car then remained in Italy for many years, until a German collector discovered it and added it to his collection. It is from this collector that we acquired the Alfa. That alone explains why it still presents so exceptionally well today. This is not an extensively restored 33 that has been painstakingly coaxed back into its original condition, but a particularly original example that has been carefully preserved over the past four decades.

The bodywork is finished in Grigio Chiaro Metallizzato, colour code AR 676. A beautiful, understated metallic grey that suits the angular design, the black plastic bumpers and the typical eighties details perfectly. The interior, too, has survived exceptionally well, with a detail you rarely encounter even on cars with such a low mileage: the carpet still wears its original factory protective plastic.

Almost forty years after this Alfa left the factory, that plastic has still not been removed. As if the first owner, back in 1987, decided the car should stay new for a little while yet. It is precisely these sorts of details that separate a lovely classic from a genuine time capsule.

Under the bonnet sits the 1,351 cc four-cylinder boxer engine with 86 bhp, mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. With a kerb weight of around 890 kilograms, that is more than enough to have fun with. The boxer sits low in the nose, which contributes to the characteristic handling. It also produces a sound you would recognise among thousands. No exaggerated roar, just that typical mechanical burble that grows ever more eager as the rev counter climbs. An engine that almost automatically tempts you to hold on to a gear just a little longer.

To ensure this 33 is not only a wonderful collector's piece but can actually be used, it has recently undergone extensive mechanical servicing. The timing belts and water pump have been renewed, the oil and filters replaced, the braking system checked and the carburettors overhauled. The paperwork is equally in good order, with documents from Italy and Germany and a TÜV data sheet present.

What makes this Alfa so special is perhaps that it was never meant to be special at all. The 33 was the affordable Alfa for the ordinary man, the Italian you drove to work and in which, on a Sunday, you still took the long way home. No exotic sports car, no exclusive homologation special, and certainly not a car anyone in 1987 expected collectors to be hunting for almost forty years later.

But time has shifted the balance. A fine classic Giulia or Spider can still be found today, provided the budget stretches far enough. A truly original Alfa Romeo 33 with mileage like this, only two owners, a documented history and the original protective plastic still on the carpet? That, by now, is quite a different story.

Some cars become rare because so few were built. Others become rare because almost no one thought to keep them. This Alfa Romeo 33 belongs to that second category, and perhaps that is exactly what makes it so endearing.

Ciao bella, and do take good care of it

Nick Slinger

Copywriter · HooG Selections

Special features

• 1987 Alfa Romeo 33 1.3 S
• Just 17,400 kilometres
• Only two owners since new
• From the first Italian owner and subsequently a German collector
• Grigio Chiaro Metallizzato, colour code AR 676
• Original factory carpet still fitted with its 1987 protective plastic
• Exceptionally original and well-preserved condition
• 1,351 cc four-cylinder boxer engine with 86 bhp
• Five-speed manual gearbox
• Recently given extensive mechanical servicing
• New timing belts and water pump
• Oil and filters replaced
• Braking system checked and carburettors overhauled
• Original delivery documentation and warranty certificate present
• Italian and German documentation, including TÜV data sheet
• A now exceedingly rare representative of Alfa Romeo's eighties