After a lackluster development year, Alfa Romeo heavily revised the T33 with their first major revision. These new cars, called T33/2, Mk II or Series 2, had substantially different bodywork that was available in both short and long tail configurations. All the short tail cars were referred to as ‘Daytona’ in either coupe or spyder form.

One of the key areas that made the T33/2 more successful was a more aerodynamically efficient body in both closed coupe and open spyder configuration. These included much larger side intakes that fed air to the engine and brakes.

The new body was fitted to a chassis very similar to the 1967 car with its large-diameter H-frame chassis that also carried the fuel. The 270 bhp, 2-liter, aluminum V8 was retained to avoid a costly engine development program, but throughout the season journalists hinted that a 3-liter version was coming down the pipe line.

Naturally the Daytona first appeared in January of 1968 for the 24 Hours of Daytona. Alfa Romeo had a good chance at overall victory with five T33/2s fielded by Autodelta. Primary competition came from the 2.2-litre Porsche 907s which eventually sweeped the podium infront of the Alfas which placed 5th, 6th and 7th place. Afterward, Autodelta entered three cars in both the BOAC 500 at Brands Hatch and the Monza 1000 km with little success.

Autodelta prepared greatly for the 1968 Targa Florio by entering four of their own cars and two more the the private team of VDS. One of the cars used an enlarged engine which was stroked to 2.5 liters and generated 310 bhp. All the cars relocated the oil cooler and featured a new front panel with a prominent scoop. Despite the massive effort from Alfa, they were again beaten by the Porsche 907, but won the 2-liter class in second place overall. All six cars were then prepared and entered the Nurburgring and another class victory was scored.

After appearances at the SPA 1000, Zandvoort, the Nuremburg 200 and Watkins Glen, Alfa Romeo scored a victory at Mugello which wasn’t a championship round. Galli, Vaccarella and Bianchi managed to hold off the Porsche 910 of Siffert and Steinemann for Alfa’s first overall victory. The feat was repeated again at Imola with a full factory effort and Alfa Romeo was looking very competitive in the middle of the season.

For Le Mans, Alfa Romeo fitted new long-tail bodywork with small fins near the trailing edge. This was meant to increase overall top speed to 300 kph and gave Alfa Romeo a chance to beat much larger competition such as the GT40. The factory cars placed 4th, 5th and 6th overall and won the 2-liter class. Afterward the three class-winning cars were displayed at various motor shows.

Sources & Further Reading

1. Collins, Peter et. al. Alfa Romeo Tipo 33.Veloce: December 2005.
2. Kidston, Simon. http://www.kidston.com. 2008
3.Chizzola, Gianni.Autodelta. Campanotto: 2004.