
The '86 facelift Alfa 33 actually took a step backward inside — its clever moveable instrument binnacle, which moved with the steering wheel, was dropped for a conventional fixed dash.
Median 63 hp across 157 similar cars
Lead trim: 1.3 Boxer (79 PS) · up to 117 hp
Alfa Romeo 33 first series facelift1986–1990
- 0spots by members
- Unclaimednobody has spotted one yet
- 0sets it belongs to
Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Alfa Romeo 33 first series facelift yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe '86 facelift Alfa 33 actually took a step backward inside — its clever moveable instrument binnacle, which moved with the steering wheel, was dropped for a conventional fixed dash.
In autumn 1986 a mild facelift resulted in a revised range: exterior alterations were limited to clear indicator lenses, new wheel covers and alloy wheels, side skirts on all models and a redesigned front grille, with two-tone paint schemes discontinued, while the interior was more deeply revised, with a more conventional dashboard and steering wheel superseding the innovative moveable instrument binnacle. All 1.5 variants now had the 105 PS engine from the discontinued 1.5 QV, and a TI trim level was exclusive to the front-wheel-drive 1.5 hatchback; changes were made to the suspension, brakes and gearbox, with closer-spaced ratios. A new 1,712 cc, 118 PS engine, enlarged in bore and stroke from the 1.5 with new cylinder heads incorporating hydraulic tappets, was introduced on the 1.7 Quadrifoglio Verde, and on the Italian and some other markets a 1.8 TD turbodiesel from VM Motori was available, a straight-three fitted with a KKK turbocharger but no intercooler to fit an engine bay designed for the short boxer. The first fuel-injected petrol 33, the 33 1.7 IE, arrived in July 1988 with Bosch 3.1 LE Jetronic injection and electronic ignition, and in April 1988 the Giardinetta was renamed Sport Wagon; in the UK only the 1.5 and 1.7 Green Cloverleaf hatchbacks and a 1.7 Sportwagon were sold. The figures listed are DIN outputs from 1988.
Collectors Spotted in the Alfa Romeo 33 Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Alfa Romeo 33 yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
8 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.3 Boxer (79 PS) | 1986–1990 | 1.4 L Flat-4 | 78 hp | 82 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 1.3 S Boxer (86 PS) | 1986–1990 | 1.4 L Flat-4 | 84 hp | 88 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 1.5 Boxer (105 PS) | 1986–1990 | 1.5 L Flat-4 | 103 hp | 98 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 1.7 Boxer (118 PS) | 1986–1990 | 1.7 L Flat-4 | 117 hp | 108 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 1.7 Boxer catalyst (114 PS) | 1986–1988 | 1.7 L Flat-4 | 113 hp | 105 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 1.7 IE Boxer (110 PS) | 1988–1990 | 1.7 L Flat-4 | 109 hp | 111 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 1.7 IE Boxer catalyst (105 PS) | 1988–1990 | 1.7 L Flat-4 | 103 hp | 107 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 1.8 TD turbodiesel straight-three (72 PS) | 1986–1990 | 1.8 L Inline-3 | 71 hp | 113 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs





Most automakers just lived with torque steer on hot front-drive hatches. Alfa Romeo engineered it away instead, building a permanent all-wheel-drive 33 — the Permanent 4 — with Recaro seats and a Nardi wheel to match.

The '86 facelift Alfa 33 actually took a step backward inside — its clever moveable instrument binnacle, which moved with the steering wheel, was dropped for a conventional fixed dash.

The original Alfa 33 had a dashboard that moved: the whole instrument binnacle rose and fell with the adjustable steering wheel — unusual enough that the 1986 facelift dropped it for a conventional layout.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.

Japan was a minor market for the Swift: when it passed 2 million sales in 2011, about 39% were in India and 27% in Europe, against roughly 15% at home.

To adapt the Horizon for America, Chrysler bought nearly 100 Volkswagen Rabbits purely to reverse engineer them.

The Mk3 Focus RS's AWD system could send 100 percent of engine power to the rear wheels alone — built not in Ford's home country, but at the Saarlouis plant in Germany.

In June 2003, a Mégane II became the subject of the first ever live televised crash test with a real human driver at the wheel instead of a dummy — filmed by Top Gear.

This Wagon R redesigned its rear doors specifically to kill off the D-pillar — bigger doors with built-in quarter glass solved what earlier generations needed a whole extra pillar for.

The BX was the UK's best-selling diesel car for four years from 1987, and 2,315,739 were built in all.

Six months before Suzuki retired the Fronte name for good, the CN11S's 796cc version was already being built in China under a completely different name: the Anchi 6330.

Built to use up Chrysler-Simca's parts bin, it took its engine and gearbox straight from the front-wheel-drive Simca 1100 but mounted them amidships instead.