--- title: "The Dallara Stradale Is an Under-Appreciated Car You Need To Know About" description: "In this new video from Larry Chen, you get to see the ultra-rare Dallara Stradale up close and personal, inside the factory." date: "2024-03-17" modified: "2024-03-17" authors: - name: "Nico DeMattia" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/nico-demattia" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-dallara-stradale-is-an-under-appreciated-car-you-need-to-know-about" categories: - "News" --- # The Dallara Stradale Is an Under-Appreciated Car You Need To Know About ![]() *Larry Chen* If you're a fan of any kind of motorsport, you've probably heard the name "[Dallara]()." The Italian race car manufacturer has helped develop race cars in [Formula 1,]() Indy Car, World Endurance Championship (WEC), and even Formula E since the 1970s. But Dallara only recently decided to get into the road car game, with the Dallara Stradale, and it's as awesome as you'd imagine a road car from a racecar builder would be. Larry Chen takes you up close and personal with the Stradale in this new video, in which he visits the Dallara facility, checks out how the car is built, and even gets to drive it. Like most Dallara projects, the Stradale is based on a carbon fiber monocoque chassis with a carbon fiber body to match. However, its front and rear subframes are aluminum, to keep both manufacturing and repair costs down. So if you're rear-ended, you only need to replace the subframe, and the main carbon fiber tub stays intact, which is actually rather helpful on a made-to-order sports car from a small manufacturer. ![]() **Larry Chen** With an almost entirely carbon fiber chassis and fully carbon fiber body, the Dallara Stradale only weighs around 2,200 pounds in its heaviest coupe configuration. However, there's a lighter-weight Roadster version that ditches the hardtop and its gullwing doors. But it gets even lighter still, as there's a Barchetta version, which gets rid of even the windshield, and weighs just over 1,800 pounds. The Stradale Barchetta is the base model, so you actually have to add the windshield and/or roof, if you want some added creature comforts. Such a low curb weights means the Stradale doesn't need much power. A mid-mounted, Ford-sourced 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine—albeit with modification by Dallara—makes 400 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque. Best of all, that engine pairs with a transaxle six-speed manual *only* and drives the rear wheels. The manual is important because the Stradale isn't exclusively a track car. It was certainly made with track driving in mind but more as a means to enjoy the car to its fullest. It's a road car first—hence the name "Stradale," which means "Road"—and despite its incredibly lightweight, two-seat, mid-engine configuration, it has three storage compartments: one rear trunk (which is hilariously small), and two storage areas behind each seat. Although the latter are meant to carry full-sized helmets, if you aren't tracking the car that day, they can be used for other things. Chen had the chance to both ride shotgun and drive a coupe version and it's a surprisingly well-mannered road car. Even with its ultra-lightweight body, zero sound insulation, and lack of creature comforts, Chen was impressed with its ride quality and comfort over some very bumpy roads. So even though it's a hardcore driver's car, it doesn't beat you up. The Stradale isn't the prettiest mid-engine sports car, nor does it sound particularly good (Ford's 2.3-liter four-pot isn't the most sonorous of engines), but it's such a special car. At around $200,000, it's barely more expensive than a well-optioned Porsche[ Cayman GT4 RS,]() while being a made-to-order, hand-assembled, mostly carbon fiber sports car from one of the world's greatest race car manufacturers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOkhnQY_kXI&t=334s *Got tips? Send 'em to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Nico is a writer and reviewer from New Jersey who probably thinks he’s a lot funnier than he actually is. His love of cars began when he was just a kid playing Gran Turismo 3, grinding out enough race wins with a Mazda Miata to save up for an in-game RUF 911. That passion for small, lightweight sports cars drove his desire to learn more about the industry, get his hands on as many cars as he could, and bring those experiences to life on the page. He cut his teeth writing about BMWs, Volkswagens, and Audis, mostly, and has owned far too many of each. He’s on his fourth 3 Series sedan, but all of his old, cheap German cars have forced him to learn more about car maintenance than his mechanical capability can handle. Too many late nights have been spent scrambling to get a car running by morning so he could get to work. For some reason, he never seems to learn that old Bimmers probably aren’t the best daily drivers. But he loves more than just old German cars. He’ll gladly drive and discuss anything with four (or even three) wheels. Cars aren’t his only passions, though. Nico is also a big nerd and loves movies, video games, comic books, and cares far too much about the New York Giants. So don’t be surprised if you see football references or dumb, obscure movie quotes in any of his car reviews. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()