Dallara Stradale: The secret star among super sports cars

It's unusual to constantly drive around with the words "Step here" between your legs. But a Dallara Stradale is unusual in every way.

Stradale, what? In fact, only a few insiders know about this super sports car. The manufacturer, Dallara Automobili from Varano de' Melegari near Parma, operates mostly in secret. Its products are primarily racing car chassis, today made entirely of in-house carbon fiber, which can be found under many professional racing cars. The high-tech company, which today occupies approximately 17,000 square meters with its own wind tunnel, was founded in 1972 by engineer Gian Paolo Dallara, who had previously designed cars and racing cars for Ferrari, De Tomaso, and Lamborghini.

But by the mid-2010s, the busy Italian had had enough of building race cars for others. He envisioned his own, very special road car, complete with a racing suit, which he describes as follows: "It has to be a car where I can remove the roof to feel the wind in my hair and smell the freshly cut grass." He also wanted to be able to drive to his favorite pub in the neighboring village and eat his favorite fish. "Then I want to drive to the racetrack in Varano, be faster than everyone else, and finally drive home completely relaxed."

On November 16, 2017, the company founder's 81st birthday, the dream car arrived: the Dallara Stradale. Initially conceived as a pure barchetta – without a roof, with only two small wind deflectors for protection and two helmet compartments behind the two seats. It also featured features such as a four-cylinder turbo engine, a six-speed manual transmission, rear-wheel drive, adjustable pedals and steering wheel (the seats are not movable).

And in the uncompromising spirit of the Stradale, there are no real doors. So the driver and passenger each sit on the side panel, lift one leg over the seat, and place their foot in the recess in the middle of the seat. This allows them to catch up with the rest of their body and sit down. Getting out is reversed – and to make sure everyone understands that you're not stepping on the seat cushion, there's a sign in the middle that says "Step here."

Only 600 units are to be built in total; according to Dallara, 350 have already been completed. Each piece is handcrafted, and no two are alike, reflecting the customers' personal preferences. A completely new feature is the Alcantara interior.

The technology is the same in all cars: a mid-engined Ford four-cylinder turbo with a displacement of 2.3 liters, originally part of the Focus RS model range, sits transversely behind the seats. Because it was the lightest turbo engine available at the time, Dallara, together with Bosch, slightly modified it, so that now, thanks to modified turbochargers and intercoolers, and a shortened exhaust system, 400 hp and 500 Nm of maximum torque are available.

Lean for a supercar, you might think. Compared to other supercars, that's true, but not in proportion to its weight: The Dallara Stradale weighs just 855 kilograms – that's enough power for a sprint in 3.25 seconds and a top speed of 280 km/h. Equally impressive: the car delivers 855 kilograms of downforce at top speed, the same as its dry weight; Dallara developed this in-house wind tunnel.

However, many potential customers – who have to wait around six months from order to delivery, even though assembly takes only ten days – found the initial design too purist. They wanted a roof over their heads and an automatic transmission. No sooner said than done: The six-speed automatic transmission (ordered by 56 percent of all buyers) now comes from Ford, as does the standard six-speed manual transmission, and a dome with gullwing doors now sits above their heads.

This turns one body shape into three: When closed, the Dallara Stradale is a coupé, with the doors removed it is a targa, and with the entire dome removed and a semi-circular plate with wind deflectors attached it is the original barchetta.

Prices start at around €260,000. With carbon fiber trim, Alcantara trim, and more, prices can be driven to unimaginable heights. The Dallara EXP racing version is even sportier, with more wings, more racing accessories, different tires, different seats—and no road approval.

For our road-going driving experience, we'll be taking advantage of the nearly six-kilometer-long Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. It's the last remaining true high-speed track, where several racing drivers, including Count Berghe von Trips and Jochen Rindt, lost their lives.

But unlike the racers of that time, we have a full carbon body under the low rear end, as well as stability control systems like ABS and ESP. Our test car has a mounted dome and an automatic transmission operated by paddle shifters. Lamborghinis, McLarens, Ferraris, and Porsches roar around us – among them, a Dallara Stradale is a true exotic.

The engine is started at the push of a button, and the deep, raspy sound is immediately noticeable. Only "Normal" and "Sport" are available as driving modes—it's no question which we choose. The digital instruments simply but clearly display speed, revs, and the selected gear.

With astonishing ease, we leave the pit lane and accelerate onto the track. Our co-driver, Dallara development driver Marco Apicella, makes sure we brake much earlier before each corner than the lightweight car would allow. You can clearly feel how tightly the car sticks to the ground, even when we drive over the curbs in the chicanes – a testament to the power of good aerodynamics. The steering is beautifully direct, and you hardly notice that it's not powered.

On the long start-finish straight, the digital speedometer reads almost 250 km/h (155 mph) – the Dallara Stradale is a serious super sports car. Only one detail detracts from the driving pleasure, and that's the dual-clutch transmission in automatic mode. It responds somewhat sluggishly and then with a noticeable shift jolt, especially when upshifting, which mars the otherwise beautiful, fluid acceleration. Therefore, as customers, we would prefer the manual version. Then at least we would be responsible for the gearshift pauses ourselves.

The permitted laps are over far too quickly, and we exit the car as described above – the "step here" routine works surprisingly well. Incidentally, Gian Paolo Dallara himself still shows special customers how to get in and out elegantly. The man is now 88 years old.