If you’re anything like me, you strongly advocate that an Alfa Romeo should always be red. But the Italian automaker’s latest creation, unveiled today at its museum in Arese, Italy, challenges that belief. It’s called the 33 Stradale “Perla Nera,” or “Black Pearl,” a name chosen by its owner, who may or may not be one Captain Jack Sparrow. Or Capitano Giovanni Passero, perhaps. And although the luscious red of other 33 Stradale examples certainly works brilliantly with the supercar’s curvaceous bodywork, this exposed matte carbon fiber finish gives it a completely new character that is undeniably appealing.
Alfa Romeo Centro Stile Delivers Menacing Perla Nera
The commissioning owner worked closely with Alfa Romeo Centro Stile and the brand’s Bottega department to create the only all-black 33 Stradale, though with only 33 units slated for production, the owner could have chosen just about any color scheme and still been unique. While other examples will have a beautifully applied multi-layer paint job, an exposed carbon finish is far more challenging, requiring millimetric precision in the hand-laid arrangement of each panel’s fibers. This is most easily observed on the front end, where the weaves meet in the middle in a V-shape, drawing the eye up and over the car. Bringing the look home are exclusive carbon fiber-garnished wheels with black and silver Alfa Romeo emblems in the center caps, and the dark theme continues in the cabin.
Here, the seats have a reinterpretation of the Alfa Romeo’s typical “cannelloni” seat pattern, a design that is repeated in the door cards and on the side sills. The headrests of these seats were updated to feature a carbon fiber Perla Nera insert, and the name of the car reappears on the aforementioned door cards and in the storage cubby, which has been moved to the rear of the cockpit and is secured in a specially designed bracket. Each 33 Stradale comes with fitted luggage, and it’s only fitting (ha) that these are also refinished in black (Alcantara). The bags also get the car’s production number (3). Other neat details include the Quadrifoglio and Autodelta symbols appearing in the door frame and the rotary selector in the center console gaining the owner’s initials, though no images of this were provided to maintain anonymity.
Autoblog’s Take
The one-off Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale Perla Nera is mechanically identical to the other 32 examples of the supercar that will ultimately be produced (630-horsepower 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6, eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, rear-wheel drive), but it’s the first project from Bottega Alfa Romeo, and it’s intended to show the world, and particularly well-heeled collectors, that this automaker is capable of providing the same bespoke finishes and details that others in the high-dollar, low-volume space can. We expect to see several more specially crafted finishes and looks as production continues, and if all goes well, Alfa Romeo’s upcoming project with Maserati will attract even more attention from those who can afford rare supercars. Hopefully, this kind of passion will trickle down to more attainable creations too.
