“I like to think that Colin Chapman, which I began to admire since the days of his Lotus Seven, would appreciate the essentiality and simplicity of this car.”

They’re the words of Giampaolo Dallara, the president of Dallara Automobili. They’re also exceptionally good things to be hearing in a time where complexity rules and even the act of changing lanes in a modern car involves 17 computers and the kind of processing power that used to be reserved for lunar missions.

But that’s not to say that the Dallara Stradale will be a simplistic bruiser, a dimwitted muscle car for simpletons who just want noise and fury without finesse.

“This project sums up everything we learned from racing,” says Mr Dallara. And that, in case you didn’t already know, is quite a bit.

In fact, there’s 45 years’ worth of racing history to draw on, including chassis development and production for roughly every Formula in racing, as well as IndyCar and Daytona Prototypes. Consider that box ticked.

But what about road cars? Well, Dallara has a bit of form there as well – consider the KTM X-Bow and Maserati MC12. Oh, and did we mention Dallara makes the chassis that underpins the Bugatti Chiron? Yeah, it’s safe to say that they know what they’re up to in that regard. That said, you’d expect nothing less from the man who was instrumental in creating the Lamborghini Miura.

So, you’d expect the Dallara Stradale – the very first road-legal car to wear a Dallara badge – to be pretty special. And right off the bat, it’s immediately apparent that this is not like other road cars, however much the ‘Stradale’ badge would suggest otherwise.

There are, as the eagle-eyed among you will have already noticed, no doors. Luckily, there is no roof either, which means that ingress is still actually possible without any Bo Duke antics. But that’s really only telling a fraction of the story – what you see in these pictures is only one possible configuration of the Stradale. And we’re not talking about trim levels or spurious options packages. You don’t so much option the Stradale as configure it to exactly what you want from your Italian toy. Want respite from the bugs-in-your-teeth driving experience? Plump for the windscreen, which turns the barchetta into a roadster. Prefer Smokey and the Bandit to Dukes of Hazzard? Best opt for the T-Frame, make a targa top and call up Sally Field. How about “seagull doors” and a roof? That’s on offer too, creating (you guessed it) a coupe. There’s adjustable suspension, a robotised manual gearbox and rear wing if you’re a track day enthusiast and want to pair it with your race booties.

By now, you’re probably clamouring for some specs, some data to feed into your internal comparison tool and decide if the Stradale’s worth the attention. Well, presented without editorialising, here are the the facts: a total weight of 855kg, thanks to “extensive use of composites and carbon fibre.” Up to 820kg of downforce and more than 2g in the corners. 2.3 litres, four cylinders, a supercharger and 395bhp. A rumoured 0-62mph time of 3.25 seconds and an alleged 174mph top speed. A power-to-weight ratio of more than 460bhp per tonne. Full ABS and stability control provided by Bosch. Specially developed tyres by Pirelli. So many delicious facts.

Now, so armed with prose and performance data, answer us this: how much do you want one?

Images: Dallara