Italy's Strange Answer To The Golf GTI - Alfa Romeo 33 1.7 Green Cloverleaf

My first Alfa 1990 .... 33 1.7 QV fantastic car, never let me down and covered 180k miles.

My mum was the first owner of that car. Came from Kimley’s Alfa Romeo down near Southampton in 1988. Sold it around 1999/2000 with 22k or so on the clock. Good to see it still going strong.

The Alfa Romeo 33 was a truly great car. The build quality was good for the most important parts. The mechanics were actually very strong. The rest wasn't bad really if you compare with the competition of the day. The early cars did suffer from some rust but the series 3 cars (907) were much better galvanised and were better than most other cars on the road at the time. They are great fun to drive and I get great attention everywhere I go in mine. Mine is mint and drives as it should. The gear change is not a good as the rest of the mechanicals but again when comparing it to the competition it is fine. The design was actually a great one and stands the test of time. The Series 3 cars were an even better design.

It has nice lines. Not boring to look at like the Golf.

Tha boxer alfa is magic , i have it in my 145, i keep coming back to this engine, I drive a new bmw Z4 as daily , but that boxer at high rpm is a mini race car

I love this Jack. I have a real affinity to the 33. We went from a Sud Ti, to two 33 1.5 Green Cloverleafs (a B plate in Alfa Red that needed a full respray before it was 1 year old, and a D plate gunmetal grey one which you could clock if you hit the instrument cluster just right - the Speedo and mileage would just stop working until you hit it again 😂) but lastly we had a black non Veloce 1.7 Green Cloverleaf as an ex Demo from Wades in Lancing, reg G665 RYJ which we had for about 5 years. My Dad loved the thing, I remember he had genuine front window deflectors and door protection strips put on it and insisted it had a set of the Veloce revolution wheels on it as part of the sale (being the one bit of the Veloce he liked). Was his absolute pride and joy and I remember most of mine and my brother's mates always being a bit envious of the fact our family car wasn't humdrum like theirs 😂 Immense memories of that car, was rapid for it's time (it weighed very little - night and day compared to the 1.5's) and recall it needed regular setting up to run at its best (Dad used to take it to a Ferrari independent specialist who used to make it properly sing). I remember back in 94/95, my Dad was doing lots of miles for work and relented, getting a Mondeo 1.8 LX company car, meaning the 33 had to go. I still remember the day it was pulled out of the garage for the last time (somewhere the Mondeo never went, it wasn't worthy) and drove off up the close, it gutted us all a bit that day. Dad sadly died of Cancer far too early several years ago, but he did at least enjoy about 10 years of early retirement in which time he owned numerous fast BMW's and a Porsche....but all the same G665 RYJ is the thing I associate with him most and arguably the reason I am as into cars as much as I am. If that car was still alive and I saw it, absolutely I would shed a tear.

I used to own a 1992 1.7 8v i.e. (with Bosch L Jetronic injection & discs all round (in the front ventilated)) for 18 years & 330.000 kms. Still I miss her. She is always on my mind. Although I own a 147, a mito turbo & 166 V6 24v, I still consider that my 33 was my best Alfa. Bulletproof engine, going mad revving after 3.500 rpm & that boxer engine sound!!!, excellent turn in/steering, very good aerodynamics for the era, lots of room inside & the Alfa control panel was very accurate!!! Great video!!! Keep it up!!!

Spot on. For raw driving appeal, there’s nothing like an Alfa. I own a Sud Sprint and for me it’s one of the best and most fun driver’s car at any price. The 33 is so underrated. Alfa Romeo did not finish developing it before or after it’s launch. Most owners have.

My buddy had one of these. It was an incredible car. Fantastic handling, good acceleration, nice sound, large and comfy inside.

I had one of these about 20 years ago, was much faster than my XR3i. The brakes weren’t the best but it held the road really well and pulled like a train in any gear. Definitely miss it a lot.

Having owned an Alfasud 1.5 TIQV and a 33 1.5 TIQV, I agree that the 33 is more solid (relatively) and pratical (absolute) but the Sud, ah.... One never forgets one's 1st love and the noises made ;)

We had 3 Alfa 33s in our family and loved them.

At 23 my new job came with the option of a company car and I went straight out and ordered a red Alfa 33 1.7 cloverleaf. I loved it despite its alarming torque steer when gunning it off the lights. My girlfriend and I drove it over to Italy and I vividly remember the glorious sound of the engine pops and growls on the mountain passes as we drove over the French border down into Italy.

My 1st Alfa was the 33 1.5TI, and I loved it. Yes the control system was crazy, the driving position was wrong and the carbs needed resetting every 6 months. But all these years later i am still driving Alfa's due to how this car made me feel.

The 33 was basically a different chassis on a Sud. I had a late Sprint 1.7ie Cloverleaf. Bought a wrecked 33 4x4 Sportwagon and mounted the complete running gear on the Sprint, removed the injection and went to carbs, which gave me a Sprint 1.7 Coupe with 4x4 drive with around 130 HP. Was a pretty easy job these day, mostly bolt on

My brother had a couple of the 16v versions of this and it was a great sounding car that went well, but that warning panel was always lit up like a Christmas tree.

My first car was a 33 1.7 16v QV (3rd gen) and all you said about how it feels to drive is true. Never been in a car quite like it. With the 16v it would go over 200kph which was exciting, scary and amazed the Germans on the autobahn 😊

A minor correction. There was a hot version soon after launch. A 105 hp 1.5 twin carb Green Cloverleaf with stiffer suspension, sporty interior etc. It was quick and handled at least as well as the Sud if not better. We upgraded from the Sud to the 1.5 Green Cloverleaf and then onto a 1.7 Green Cloverleaf Sportswagon.

I had one, It was EPIC. It was a series 2 1.7i 16v Inj, 15" TSW Hockenheim R's, Slightly lowered, Absolute WEAPON🤩

In Spain there was a SEAT IBIZA SXi and Sportline with a Porsche licenced inline 4 OHC and multipoint Bosch injection these run as fast as a Golf Gti if not faster! I had a Sportline 1700i from 1992 on it was realy fast and reliable too, looked like a mix of a Fiat Uno and Tipo (Giugiaro Italdesign) ! The older Seat Rondas (DOHC versions) are also very interesting and especialy the SEAT Boca Negra Fiat 128 derivates are one of my all time favourite hot hatches, you can tune the hell out of them with Abarth, Hörmann or Bayless kits!