Dallara Automobili S.p.A. was founded by Gian Paolo Dallara in 1972, having honed his expertise developing Formula 1 and Formula 3 cars. Dallara, a qualified aeronautical engineer, also worked with notable automotive manufacturers such as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren to design sports car chassis, but yearned to make his mark with a brand of his own. Dallara was inspired by Lotus founder Colin Chapman, embodying Chapman’s philosophy of lightweight, minimalist sports car design in the construction of the Stradale.

Development of the Stradale began in 2015; Dallara started out by focusing on aerodynamics, while former professional racing driver, Loris Bicocchi, was enlisted to work on the chassis and the design brief was given to Granstudio, a small consultancy in Turin, Italy. Weighing a mere 855 kilograms, the car would be powered by a 2.3-litre turbocharged Ford EcoBoost engine as used in the Ford Focus RS, uprated by Bosch to produce some 395 horsepower and 3,698 pound-feet of torque. Still manufactured to this day, the Stradale is assembled in Varano de’ Melegari, in Parma, and the first example produced was delivered to Gian Dallara to mark the company founder’s 81st birthday.

The Stradale can be specified in one of many body styles, including “berlinetta” and “barchetta”. The berlinetta option employs two gullwing-style doors, while the barchetta option features a “doorless” open cabin. These different body styles are possible due to a removable windscreen manufactured from a motorsport-grade polycarbonate glass and carbon fibre frame. The chassis is a carbon fibre tub, designed as a result of extensive wind tunnel testing. The air from one side flows into the engine bay, while on the other side, air is directed into the Stradale’s intercooler.

This example on offer displays the beautiful two-door berlinetta body style. It left the factory in 2019 finished in white with a black leather interior featuring red stitching. It is equipped with the optional six-speed automated manual gearbox, with paddle-shifters mounted on the steering column. The car was first registered in Switzerland on 28 May 2020, and is presented with an OMP towing eye, Dallara owner’s bag and a Dallara front licence plate fitting kit. At the time of cataloguing, the car has covered only 172 kilometres.