Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale and Japan: A story of passion, sporting emotions, and love for Made in Italy.

• Japanese manager Noriaki Uchino is one of the 33 passionate owners of the new 33 Stradale. When he arrived at the museum in Arese, the Japanese entrepreneur talked about his bond with Alfa Romeo.
• In the exciting meeting between the customer and the Alfa Romeo team, with them Mr. Uchino went back over the configuration of his custom-built car, a tribute to the brand’s heritage to take it ahead into the noble Italian sportiness of the 21^st century.
• An aficionado of Italian culture and beauty, the Japanese manager decided on livery in Blu Reale for the bodywork, in his words to evoke the blue sky of the Bel Paese, and on red details on the lights and brake calipers.
• The Tributo interior has been embellished with high-quality gray Alcantara upholstery, lightweight sports pedals, and an aluminum footrest with a dark brushed finish.
• As befits a true Alfista, Noriaki Uchino does not intend to keep his 33 Stradale like jewelry in a vault. Instead, he will be driving it to fully experience all the emotions that only an Alfa Romeo can bring out.
• There is a strong bond between Japan and Alfa Romeo, as demonstrated by the renowned 1991 manga Ghost in the Shell and the success achieved at the prestigious “Kyoto 2018 Concours d’Elegance.”
• In Japan, customers who choose an Alfa Romeo are true enthusiasts for Made in Italy, sportiness and technology. Just like Noriaki Uchino, born in 1960, who transformed the business founded by his family in 1927 into a globally established precision mechanics industrial operation.

An unforgettable experience, caught between a glorious past and a compelling future, in the name of the values that make Alfa Romeo an authoritative ambassador of Italian beauty around the world. A few days ago, all this happened to Noriaki Uchino, a third-generation Japanese entrepreneur and one of the 33 people who have bought the new 33 Stradale, the “manifesto” of the Italian brand’s capabilities – now and in the future – in terms of style and driving experience.  A true admirer of Made in Italy products, the Japanese manager adores Italian creativity in all its forms – from music and cuisine to art and design – and is a great fan of sports cars, especially Italian models and those from the Alfa Romeo brand. Hence the decision to join the limited numbers of passionate owners of the new 33 Stradale, the new “two-seater” coupé that combines the brand’s heritage and future as the symbol of noble Italian sportiness.

Having landed in Milan in mid-March, the Japanese manager spent two evocative days between Milan and Arese, two of the brand’s iconic locations, where he was welcomed with great enthusiasm by the Alfa Romeo team who went back over with him all the phases of configuration of his custom-built car, making it a unique and unrepeatable work of art. The result was a meeting with a great deal of emotional involvement, in which the customer told his story to the Alfa Romeo team. After all, the fascinating new 33 Stradale is created at the newly founded Alfa Romeo “Bottega”, where the brand’s designers, engineers and historians met and listened to the 33 owners, then produced and configured their unique cars together, exactly the same way as in Renaissance artisan boutiques and in the 1960s workshops of renowned Italian coachbuilders.

Two days of pure excitement with the Alfa Romeo team
On the first day, Noriaki Uchino dedicated himself to the historical and cultural beauties of Milan, the brand’s hometown and the undisputed Italian capital of design and innovation. The next day, he experienced genuine full immersion in the Alfa Romeo world, during an exclusive visit to the Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese where he admired the fascinating historic 33 Stradale, which he – like many others around the world – considers one of the most beautiful cars ever made. His love for this automotive icon is so strong that his two Alfa Romeos in Japan – a stunning 4C Spider Italia Special Series and a Giulia GTAm that he drives every day – have the number 33 on their license plates. The day continued in the Sala del Consiglio of the Museum in Arese, where the design of the 33 Stradale was approved in 1967, now the Bottega’s headquarters. In the hall, Noriaki Uchino met the experts from the Alfa Romeo team dedicated to the project, a new way of conceiving the production of “few-offs.” The 33 project skillfully combines artisan processes, technological innovation and customer desires, a little like what happened in the early 20^th century when Alfa Romeo modeled its creations with the collaboration of famous Italian coachbuilders. One of these was the renowned Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, which went on to leave its mark on some of the most beautiful Alfa Romeos of all time and now plays a leading role in the production of the new 33 Stradale.

The 33 Stradale customized by Noriaki Uchino
The Japanese manager’s first request was livery in exclusive Blu Reale, an evocative color previously seen on the 1967 33. The choice was as much a tribute to the Alfa Romeo icon as the result of his very personal memory of the Italian sky, in his opinion a shade of blue unique in the world. For a striking color match with the bodywork, he also asked for the finish on the headlight details and the brake calipers to be painted red. All this is made even more captivating by the stunning Heritage alloy wheels in gloss black, a sophisticated variant of the gold paint as standard for the wheels, which most of all hark back to the historical 33. Noriaki Uchino then selected two other specific aesthetic details: the front grille in the “Classic” version, i.e. with the Biscione logo that appears when nearby and disappears again as you move away, and the removal of the air intake from the trunk bonnet for cleaner lines in the rear. Of course, the customization also included the Tributo interior, a clear homage to the 1967 33 Stradale on display at the Arese Museum, basically characterized by leather and aluminum, with the two-tone “biscuit and slate” leather upholstery for the seats, dashboard, door panels, and central tunnel as a standout feature. To make his car truly unique, Noriaki Uchino selected certain exclusive customizations, such as fine upholstery on the ceiling and pillars in gray Alcantara, a sports pedal set, aluminum footrest with dark brushed finish, and his car’s identifier “28/33” engraved on the right-hand spoke of the steering wheel. Finally, the Japanese manager requested a set of suitcases branded “33 Stradale”, handmade by the well-known luxury brand Schedoni. 

A jewel to be worn every day with passion and pride
The new 33 Stradale can definitely not merely be kept in a vault or only considered as an investment. As befits a true Alfista, Noriaki Uchino is a gentleman driver who immediately made it clear how eager he was to jump on board his 33 Stradale, to fully experience all the emotions typical of Alfa Romeo sports cars. In this model, they are the result of the perfect pairing of the most exhilarating driving experience and the immortal charm of an icon. An authentic work of art in motion, generated by the perfect combination of beauty and technique, the new Alfa Romeo mechanical creation therefore combines ‘art’ and industrial production into something unique. This juxtaposition is particularly appreciated by the Japanese public, as traditional Japanese culture blurred the distinction between ‘art,’ ‘craftsmanship,’ and the ‘applied arts,’ at least until the late 19^th century.

From manga comics to concours d’elegance: Japan and its penchant for Alfa Romeo cars
The extent to which Alfa Romeo design, past and present, has become part of the Japanese collective unconscious is also demonstrated by a curious link between Japanese manga artists (漫画家, manga-ka) and the Biscione brand’s cars, including the 1990s Alfa Romeo SZ, chosen by Masamune Shirow for his famous manga Ghost in the Shell. Likewise, there is an unbreakable bond between vintage Alfa Romeo cars and Japanese collectors; just think of the Italian brand’s success at the prestigious “Kyoto Concours d’Elegance,” hosted in 2018 at the 17^th-century Nijō Castle in Kyoto, where the title of “Best in Show” was awarded to the 1951 6C 2500 Super Sport Villa d’Este, one of the 36 models produced by Carrozzeria Touring in Milan between 1949 and 1952. In the same year, the 1939 6C 2500 Sport Berlinetta Touring, formerly belonging to Prince Caetani (Touring Early Italian class) and the 1900 Super Sprint Touring of 1955 (Touring Classic Italian class 1952-1961) also won in their respective classes. The guest of honor at the event in Japan was the one-of-a-kind 1900 C52 Coupé, usually known as the “Flying Saucer” and kept at the Alfa Romeo History Museum in Arese.

The importance of the Japanese market for the Italian global brand
Noriaki Uchino’s exciting meeting with the Alfa Romeo team once again highlighted the visceral nature of the passion for the Italian brand, which engages everyone who loves living their life with Italian transportation and warmth. In recent years, the brand has established itself in the Land of the Rising Sun as an expression of Italian design and sportiness, and has made its way into the hearts of a sophisticated clientele who love Made in Italy products and are very demanding in terms of performance and driving pleasure. For example, of the 500 exclusive Giulia GTA and Giulia GTAm models produced in 2021, 88 were registered in Japan. In that country, customers who choose an Alfa Romeo car are true enthusiasts for cars, sportiness and the latest technology. Just like Noriaki Uchino, born in 1960, who transformed the family business – originally founded in 1927 to repair textile machines, which then went on to produce precision gears for prototypes of two- and four-wheeled vehicles – into a globally established industrial operation, partly as a result of their robust use of technological innovation, digitalization and environmental sustainability. These days, Uchino’s factory in Japan supplies most domestic and overseas car and motorcycle manufacturers, as well as supporting constructors in the world’s most famous championships, including F1, the WEC and MotoGP.