Although it has never been a racing-car constructor in its own right, Dallara has long been one of the most famous names in motorsport. The Italian company has been involved in everything from Formula 3 to prototype racing to IndyCar and is the world’s biggest manufacturer of racing chassis. On a typical weekend, the company estimates that more than 300 of its products take to circuits around the world. It has worked on road cars as well; cars such as the Alfa Romeo 4C and the Bugatti Chiron are built around Dallara-engineered carbon tubs. Yet, until now, the firm has never produced a road car under its own name—something that has changed with the unveiling of the new Stradale, a limited-run carbon-fiber special that made its official debut on the 81st birthday of company founder Giampaolo Dallara in his hometown of Varano de’ Melegari.

Signor Dallara has a personal history even more storied than that of his eponymous company. He began his automotive career under Enzo Ferrari, introduced Maranello’s first wind tunnel, and then defected to the Maserati factory team. After that, he was recruited by Ferruccio Lamborghini, becoming one of the engineers on the original Lamborghini Miura, before going to De Tomaso to design a Formula 1 car. He had done all that—and started what would grow to become his hugely successful engineering business—before his 40th birthday.

Yet one itch remained unscratched—until now. Dallara admits to a long-held desire to create a road car wearing his name. Work on the project that would ultimately become the Stradale began 20 years ago but was paused on no fewer than six occasions when engineering resources were switched to projects for paying clients. The finished car makes extensive use of Dallara’s carbon-fiber expertise but has also been developed using the company’s state-of-the-art wind tunnel and powerful computer simulators. So although the statistic that leaps out is the 400-hp output of its tuned mid-mounted Ford EcoBoost 2.3-liter inline-four engine, the project’s engineers are even prouder of two other claimed figures: the 1885-pound dry weight of the car in its lightest possible configuration—as a windshield-free barchetta speedster—and also the peak 1808 pounds of downforce that the car is capable of generating in coupe form with the optional rear wing.

The transformation between different body styles is achieved by an optional (and removable) windshield—constructed using a carbon-fiber frame and motorsports-grade polycarbonate—that has a central wiper reminiscent of an endurance racer’s. Beyond that, buyers can specify a detachable roof spar and two top-hinged canopy doors made from the same material as the windshield. These aren’t conventional doors, as getting in and out means climbing over the side structure, but with them in place the Stradale does look reasonably snug. The carbon tub’s solid side structure also allows it to contain channels from the front to the rear of the car, one feeding the engine intake and the other an air-to-air intercooler. Meaning that, like the McLaren 720S, the Stradale doesn’t have the side-mounted air intakes that normally characterize a mid-engined car. Although much of the exterior styling has been dictated by the car’s aerodynamic targets and extensive modeling, the shape has been pleasingly finessed by Granstudio, a small Turin-based design consultancy. There is some intelligent use of parts as well: Bonus points if you spotted that the rear lights are the same ones found in the lower bumper of an Audi Q7.

The Stradale draws heavily on Dallara’s motorsports experience, with the central carbon-fiber tub being joined by aluminum substructures front and rear. There are two control arms at each corner, and the front arms mount directly to the tub. The floor is almost entirely flat, and there is a substantial splitter at the front and a big diffuser at the rear. These generate so much aerodynamic downforce in their own right that, if the Stradale is running without the optional high-mounted rear wing, the front needs to be fitted with what are called reverse Gurney flaps that sit across the airflow to effectively stall the element and maintain the appropriate aerodynamic balance.

The EcoBoost engine mounts transversely and drives the rear wheels through a six-speed gearbox, either a traditional manual or an automated manual controlled by paddles. Both versions get a mechanical limited-slip differential, and the Stradale also has stability control as standard that is fully defeatable and tuned to intervene as rarely as possible. Former racer Loris Bicocchi led the chassis-development program; he also has done development for Bugatti, Pagani, and Koenigsegg. Iron brake rotors are gripped by Brembo calipers, as we’re told that the Stradale’s limited mass and huge downforce mean that it doesn’t need the cost and complexity of carbon-ceramic discs.

Practicality is limited. Dallara’s brief for the car was that it be street legal, albeit more so that it can be driven to race circuits rather than so it can serve as a daily driver. The cabin has more carbon fiber than gadgets, and the switchgear is integrated into the steering wheel—instrumentation is limited to the data supplied by a motorsports-style display screen. The seat padding is applied directly to carbon shells that don’t move; adjustment of the driving position is by tweaking the steering-wheel position and moving the pedals. Luggage will need to be squashed into a small compartment behind the engine and two stowage bins accessed by popping the seat cushions (both of which are designed to accommodate a race helmet). Total capacity of the three compartments is claimed to be four cubic feet.

Other optional extras include track-biased Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires, racing-grade dampers, an active suspension system that drops the car into a 0.8-inch-lower Track mode, and an oil-pressure accumulator to help the engine withstand the sustained 2.00 g’s of lateral acceleration that the chassis is said to be capable of generating. All of these add appreciably to the already high starting price: The most basic version of the car is about $182,500 at current exchange rates. Adding the windshield, roof, and doors tacks on a substantial $37,200, and a fully equipped Stradale will run past $235,000. For perspective, that’s nearly double the price of the Lotus 3-Eleven track special in most European markets.

Yet although that price will help to preserve the Stradale’s exclusivity, it doesn’t seem to be putting off buyers. Even before the car made its official debut, Dallara says that it had sold nearly all of the first year’s production based on nothing more than word of mouth. We’re told that several well-known racing drivers more familiar with Dallara’s competition products are among the buyers. Production is limited to no more than 600 cars over the next five years, and it’s likely the only chance to buy a roadgoing Dallara.

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