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Which Alfa Romeo concept cars are the best of all time? The strongest choices span radically different ambitions: aerodynamic experiments, expressive design studies and a show car that led to a production model. This is an editorial shortlist, not an official Alfa Romeo ranking. It also distinguishes true concepts from celebrated cars such as the 33 Stradale, which was designed as a road-going car and launched in very small numbers.
How these Alfa Romeo concepts stand apart
These cars were not built to solve the same problem. Some explored lower-drag shapes; others tested new design languages or showed how a production car might evolve. Their engineering bases matter, too: the BAT studies drew on the 1900, the Carabo shared its Tipo 33 foundation with the 33 Stradale, and the Caimano used a shortened Alfasud platform.
| Car | Design direction | Technical basis or role |
|---|---|---|
| BAT 7 | Streamlined body, integrated wheel arches and large rear fins | Alfa Romeo 1900 basis; aerodynamic study |
| BAT 9d | More road-car-like, with smaller fins and no rear wheel skirts | Alfa Romeo 1900 basis; third BAT study |
| Carabo | Angular wedge, scissor doors, green-and-orange finish | Tipo 33 basis; Bertone design study |
| Alfasud Caimano | Transparent canopy and unusual cockpit details | Shortened Alfasud platform; one-off concept |
| Montreal Expo concept | Technology-focused show car | 1967 Expo study that preceded a production Montreal |
| Disco Volante | Flying-saucer interpretation of a future car | Touring design emerging from aerodynamic research |
BAT 7: the aerodynamic extreme
Alfa Romeo commissioned Bertone and designer Franco Scaglione to create the BAT studies—short for “Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica”—to explore automotive aerodynamics. The trio used the Alfa Romeo 1900 technical basis, but each pursued a distinct interpretation of the future car.
The BAT 7 is the most dramatic of the group: its low, streamlined body, integrated wheel arches and sweeping rear fins give it a shape that seems designed around airflow. Alfa Romeo’s 2024 heritage account gives the BAT 7 a drag coefficient of 0.19, a figure that helps explain why it remains the best-known BAT study. Alfa Romeo’s 2024 BAT 7 account
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BAT 9d: the more road-going BAT
The third BAT is named BAT 9d in Stellantis North America’s account. Compared with the earlier studies, it is more restrained: smaller fins, no rear wheel skirts, and a distinct beltline and grille give it a more conventional road-car character. That change makes the 9d interesting in its own right; it shows the aerodynamic series moving from radical form toward a shape that looks more usable on public roads. Stellantis North America’s account of the three BAT cars
Carabo: the wedge that broke with the past
The Carabo and 33 Stradale share a Tipo 33 technical foundation, but they could hardly express it in more different ways. Franco Scaglione shaped the 33 Stradale as a functional, aerodynamic road-going sports car. Marcello Gandini’s Carabo, designed for Bertone, instead pushed toward a sharply geometric wedge, highlighted by scissor doors and a vivid green-and-orange finish. Alfa Romeo’s heritage feature calls them “non-identical twins”—a concise description of how one platform could support two opposing visions. Alfa Romeo’s account of the 33 Stradale, Carabo and Montreal
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The 33 Stradale belongs in this story as the Carabo’s counterpart, not as a pure concept: it was intended as a road car and launched in very small numbers. The contrast between the two makes the Carabo’s importance clearer. It was not simply a styling variation; it proposed an entirely different visual language.
Alfasud Caimano: a concept with an unusual cockpit
Presented at the 1971 Turin Motor Show alongside the Alfasud Berlina, Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Caimano reworked the Alfasud with a shortened platform and a striking canopy in place of conventional side doors. The large transparent canopy hinged at the front, while an adjustable rear roll-bar doubled as a spoiler. Inside, bowl-shaped seats and cylindrical dashboard instruments made the cockpit feel like part of the experiment rather than a finished production interior.
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The Alfa Romeo Historical Museum lists a 1,286 cc engine, 86 hp and one vehicle produced. Those figures describe the museum’s Caimano entry, not a production Alfasud specification. Alfa Romeo Historical Museum: Alfasud Caimano – 1971
Montreal: from Expo concept to production car
Alfa Romeo developed the Montreal as a technological symbol for the 1967 Expo in Montreal. Bertone gave Marcello Gandini responsibility for its body and interior design. The original show concept and the later road car should be kept distinct: a standard version followed and appeared at the Geneva Motor Show in 1970.
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The production Montreal used a Tipo 33-based 2.6-litre V8 limited to 200 hp, according to Alfa Romeo’s 2020 heritage account. That development from exhibition study to production model gives the Montreal a different kind of significance from the one-off experiments: its concept role led to a road-going car. The account describes the Expo brief with the phrase “the highest aspiration of modern man in terms of cars.” Alfa Romeo’s heritage account of the Montreal concept and production car
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Disco Volante: a flying saucer for the road ahead
Touring’s 1950s Disco Volante offered an early, otherworldly take on the future car, emerging from aerodynamic research. The available Alfa Romeo heritage description is brief, so its place on this list rests on the design idea and historical arc rather than on unverified performance claims. It broadens the story beyond the later BAT and Tipo 33 studies, showing the marque’s interest in aerodynamic forms well before those better-known experiments.
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Other Tipo 33 one-offs worth knowing
Alfa Romeo’s heritage account also names several other one-off designs based on the Tipo 33: Giugiaro’s Iguana, the 33 Special Coupé, Pininfarina’s Cuneo and Bertone’s Navajo. They belong in the wider conversation about Alfa Romeo design studies, although the cited account does not provide enough detail here to compare their specifications or influence fairly.
Which one is the best?
For pure aerodynamic drama, the BAT 7 is the standout. For a design that most radically changed the visual direction of its platform, the Carabo is the clearest choice. The Caimano is the most intriguing cockpit experiment, while the Montreal has the strongest concept-to-production story. There is no single objective winner: the best choice depends on whether the reader values engineering exploration, visual originality or a concept’s connection to a road car.
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