Alfa Romeo Carabo Bertone

What is the Alfa Romeo Carabo?

The Carabo is Bertone’s one-off concept designed by Marcello Gandini on Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale foundations. Its debut was at the 1968 Paris show. The inventory’s 1967 date belongs to the surrounding 33 Stradale context rather than the Carabo presentation itself. The historical profile therefore uses 1968 while preserving the original inventory reference in audit metadata. Read the cited reference for its documented context.

A wedge with a distinct author

The factory history credits Gandini and describes a radical change in visual language. As an interpretation of the photographed form, the low nose and taut surfaces make the Carabo read differently from the earlier rounded Sportiva. Comparing the two shows how the same coachbuilder could support very different design approaches across time; Bertone is not a substitute for identifying the designer.

The V8 mechanical base

The museum documents a mid-mounted 1995 cc V8, dry-sump lubrication, fuel injection and a six-speed transmission. It also records fibreglass bodywork over tubular elements and disc brakes. These are Carabo-sheet references, not a guarantee that every other 33-based concept had the same tune, equipment or dimensions.

Doors and colour as design decisions

Heritage identifies scissor doors and the green, orange and dark-coloured treatment that relates the name to beetles. As a design interpretation, the door opening addresses access to a very low cabin while also creating a memorable show-car gesture. The colour can be understood as part of the original concept’s identity, rather than an arbitrary repaint chosen for a modern display.

A count that stays with the concept

The museum gives one Carabo. That number describes this concept, not the total of all Alfa Romeo 33 chassis or all coachbuilder studies built from them. It should not be added to a wider road-car total without checking how that total treats the supplied concept chassis. A specialist archive needs both the individual object and the relationship to its parent programme.

Seeing Carabo in the museum

The featured photograph shows the car at the Alfa Romeo museum in September 2020. It is a modern collection view, not an image from Paris in 1968. Its value is the clear view of the preserved design. The caption keeps the location and photograph date distinct from the debut year, making the image useful without inventing a period setting.

Preserving a prototype’s identity

A prototype record needs more than a model name and an attractive photograph. Establish the chassis, the coachbuilder’s records and the dated sequence of show appearances. Record changes to paint, glazing, interior and mechanical equipment when evidence permits. A later alteration can be an important part of a show car’s working life. Keeping those stages separate allows the archive to explain the object as it developed rather than inventing a single specification that supposedly remained unchanged from its first presentation.

Restoration evidence and interpretation

For a unique design study, conservation and reconstruction are central to its historical account. Keep photographs of the earliest known form alongside records of later repairs and the reasoning behind restored details. Identify what was retained, repaired or recreated wherever the evidence is available. Museum display and concours presentation can provide useful context, but neither alone documents every component. A photograph illustrates one moment in the car’s life; its caption should identify that moment, leaving detailed material authenticity to the accompanying chassis and restoration record.

Frequently asked questions

Was Carabo presented in 1967?

The factory dates its Paris debut to 1968.

Who designed it?

Marcello Gandini at Bertone.

How many does the museum list?

One Carabo concept.

What engine family is recorded?

A 1995 cc V8 on 33 Stradale foundations.

Related vehicle profiles

• Alfa Romeo Canguro Bertone
• Alfa Romeo 2000 Sportiva Bertone
• Alfa Romeo 33/2 Daytona

Sources and further reading

1. Museo Alfa Romeo: Carabo technical sheet and one-car count
2. Heritage: Gandini, 1968 debut and the concept’s design

Photo and credit

1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo at Museo Alfa Romeo in Arese, photographed in September 2020. Photo: Zairon / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and JPEG-compressed for web display; no content retouching. Website layouts may crop the image.