Dallara Stradale - Cars Collection

On my trip to Italy in October 2024 I passed several famous Italian car brands, one of them was Dallara. To see Dallara as a car company that only builds one car model is really to miss the whole thing with Dallara. In fact, I'll admit that I did too before I visited their factory in Italy. Dallara has been involved in brands like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo and McLaren to name a few. But also in motorsport, Dallara has been very instrumental. Including F1, F3 and Indycar to name a few. Dallara was founded in 1972 by Giampaolo Dallara. Giampaolo is still involved in the company despite being 88 years old. As I am shown around the factory, my guide points out the apartment where Giampaolo lives, which has a window facing the factory from one of the toilets in the apartment. On my tour of the factory, in addition to seeing where Giampaolo lives, I get to see their museum and their wind tunnel. But I also get to see their very special simulator. A simulator all video game people would probably have sacrificed their lives to experience. In this simulator Formula 1 teams come to test different things. This article would be very long if I went into everything Dallara had a finger in. Instead, this article will focus on one of their models, the Dallara Stradale. A car model that I am the first Swedish journalist to test drive.

I have a man called Alex Stewart to thank for my contact and part of the reason why I have now visited the factory and been able to test drive a Dallara. I met Alex at a Gran Turismo Nürburgring events. Alex has been to many of the Gran Turismo event. He has a Dallara Stradale which I have photographed many times and also travelled in. Alex put me in touch with Dallara which allowed me to visit them during my trip to Italy.

Those of you who have followed me here on carscollection.com You may have read in the past that I have more than once been the first Swedish journalist to test drive a new car model. On the one hand Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1S. When it comes to W Motors from Dubai, I even have the first journalist in the world to test drive and do a story on their models. When I was down in Dubai in 2013, I got to test drive Lykan Hypersport and do a report on it. Then I got to test drive and do an article on their suv Ghiath when I was down in Dubai in 2024. But so too now with the Dallara Stradale as mentioned above.

The Dallara Stradale, unveiled back in 2017. The Dallara Stradale is anything but a comfort car, it's a real hardcore sports car that begs to be driven hard. The entire cockpit is a so-called carbon fibre monocoque. The seats are in the same position and the driver can adjust the pedals longitudinally to set the distance depending on his height. The detail work is top class and a pure show. A treat for the eyes and the mind when you find your place. When you do, you are literally sitting in a vice made of carbon fibres. That's exactly how you want to feel when you're travelling fast and the road bends. On my test drive, I really get to experience that. I have the guy who was my guide at the factory with me in the car. When I step on the gas, I timidly ask if it feels okay that I accelerate a little. He replies flatteringly that it was clear that I know what I'm doing behind the wheel. So with that said, I felt it was perfectly okay to push the Dallara Stradale as much as I actually dared myself. However, it was clear that I was just, so to speak, "pawing" at what this car can actually do!

The Dallara Stradale is a so-called Barchetta, it has no doors but a removable roof. So you can't be completely vague when you get in and out of a Dallara Stradale. However, a photo step has been made inside the car where it also says "Step here". So if you're not completely clumsy, you'll learn pretty quickly how to get in the car.

The Dallara Stradale is powered by a 2.3-litre four-cylinder Ford EcoBoost engine with Turbo. It may not be a big engine, but the Dallara Stradale is not a big car either and is very light. In fact, it weighs less than a tonne, 855 kilos to be precise. The engine delivers 395 horses. That's enough to take the Dallara Stradale from standstill to 100 kilometres per hour in just 3.2 seconds. Top speed is reached when the speedometer needle shows 280 kilometres per hour. I was not able to do any high-speed tests with the Dallara Stradale, as there were no such roads on the route I had to test drive the car. But as I mentioned above, the curvy roads near the factory were exactly what this car likes and best shows its true colour. A colour that makes me very happy and actually makes my little horns on my forehead grow. As mentioned earlier in this article, I got to ride with Alex in his Dallara Stradale at the Nürburgring. I hope to drive a Dallara Stradale myself on the North Loop is something I get to experience in the future. This is exactly the kind of car you should have there!