Scarabeo: The Secret Alfa Romeo Project You've Never Heard Of

Scarabeo. That's the Italian word for "beetle," but for a few knowledgeable Alfa Romeo fans, it is also the name of one of the most tantalizing "might have been" chapters in the Marque's long history.
Our story begins in February of 1966, less than a month after Alfa's experimental department had begrudgingly surrendered the development of the 33 sports prototype to Autodelta, the racing department of Alfa Romeo headed by Carlo Chiti.
"Losing" the 33 proved a particularly bitter pill to swallow for its creator Giuseppe Busso, who began working on a new racing car project in the hope that, by sticking within an inferior category and with a significantly cheaper car, he may keep this new program from going off to Autodelta...
#alfaromeo #history #classiccars
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Lancia Gamma Berlina & Coupé 1976 - 1984
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Six Appeal - The Story Of The Alfa 6
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Alfa Romeo Alfa 6 - La Storia 1979-1987 (ITALIAN)
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Alfa Romeo Giulietta - The Story 1977 - 1985
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Alfa Romeo Arna - The Full Story 1980 - 1987 www.amazon.com...

[@domtoni4567]

Fantastico Matteo. I hope that Stellantis can rebuild the glory of Alfa Romeo !! One of the great names in all auto history.

[@Matteo_Licata]

I hope so too! I'm optimistic about it, we'll see

[@charlesbolton8471]

@@Matteo_Licata I hope so, too, but the unfortunate truth is that it’s much more likely that they will ruin it.

[@aryanalfa2444]

i own one, and alfa may improve in quality that matches it's premium up market prices

[@alfa668]

@@Matteo_Licata BEAUTIFUL 😍 CAR 🙋🏻‍♂️

[@SmallBlogV8]

There is something just so 'right' about the shapes and proportions of that front end, while I also enjoy the TZ-esque kammtail for looking fast and breadvan-y. I now want a scale model of one for my house!

[@brunotulliani]

Beat me to it! I love it, "breadvan-y" LOL

[@danielromeo1859]

Totally agree.

[@wallacem41atgmail]

It's great to learn all these tidbits of history. Thank you for what you do!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you very much indeed. This warm feedback and appreciation are what keep me going every single week to work on these stories :)

[@hugobloemers4425]

You can always look at the glass half empty or half hull. If you do the latter, we are so blessed that many prototypes that never make it to production are saved none the less. Many other car makers don't do that. It is clear which one is the more passionate about cars. BTW, do I recognize some Matchbox models here, or is that a coincidence?

[@jordiperez2519]

I don't think so

[@brunotulliani]

I do. Especially the concept with-out the motor is definitely "Matchbox-y'" Funky over the top futuristic goodness.

[@Matteo_Licata]

The Paris motor show car has been reproduced by more than one toy manufacturer in period, but can't quite tell you which ones, as I'm not an expert on vintage toy cars. Regarding saving the prototypes, it's true in this case that the Scarabeos have been saved by people who cared. Busso himself had the red prototype stored away, while the "barchetta" prototype was spared by those tasked with destroying it, who tucked it away instead.

[@marinusholland]

Stunning

[@Matteo_Licata]

It really is!

[@brunotulliani]

Beautiful concept! Alfa's version of the "Bread Van."

[@tamasszabo8824]

Exactly!

[@gearhead9828]

Wow, very fascinating! Absolutely love these history lessons. Thank you so much, ciao 🙋‍♂️

[@Matteo_Licata]

Glad you like them! Thank you :)

[@jordiperez2519]

One by one.....we learn history about one dream........THANKS to you for made me a little bit "Alfisti" with every video you make. Proud to be in your channel

[@Matteo_Licata]

Wow, that's so nice of you! These kind words make my day, thank you very much for your appreciation!!!

[@ElectricUAM]

Wow, I had read about the Alfa Scarabeo project and how innovative it was but I never knew it led to a race-version of the Zagato Junior. Thank you for your excellent videos. I learn so much. Alfa Romeo, the brand we love to love and hate to hate. If only they had made it to production...

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoy my videos! This one actually pissed off the Alfa museum's people, as it made way more views than the one they did about the same event. From then on, I was no longer welcome to film there! But that's their problem, not mine.

[@ElectricUAM]

@@Matteo_Licata LOL, I understand that very well. I've been a journalist for the past 17 years and thought it was funny that as long as I only said once things, companies loved me. But be critical and say out loud what everyone says and you're the black sheep. So it goes!

[@lynnhooley7608]

grazie mille Matteo, buona gionata

[@Matteo_Licata]

Grazie, anche a te!

[@Santos.Sarmento]

Matteo being great again… and again! Thanks. Greetings from Brazil.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you fo your appreciation, cheers from Italy :)

[@raufsahin334]

Its a beautiful machine .

[@Matteo_Licata]

Indeed!

[@OliverPickard]

This is one of my favourite videos of yours

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you, glad you think so! 😃

[@dipling.pitzler7650]

Many thanks, specially for convincing the Museum staff to lift the engine hood for further inspection of the "Twin Spark" engine bay. I find it very interesting how close the spark plugs of the third and fourth cylinder are together with the ignition cable boots touching each other! This engine should be called Testa Stretta like the famous Ducati engine! Would it not be a good idea, before running out of Italian cars, to include vintage Italian Motorbikes into the Portfolio of Roadster Life?After all The riding experience is similar to that of a Roadster!🙂

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you!!! I’m not worried about running out of topics anytime soon: in fact, my biggest current limitation is finding cars to film, more than anything else. Regarding motorbikes, I see your point but I don’t feel I can write about them. I like Ducatis and Guzzis as much as anyone else, but I don’t know much about motorbikes, if at all, so I’d better stick to what I’m knowledgeable about 😊

[@dipling.pitzler7650]

@@Matteo_Licata I understand. Regarding cars to cover: Although not in Italy, just opened there is a very interesting rally car show at the Technik museum speyer (near Heidelberg,Germany)with all models once driven by Walter Röhrl including 037,131 and Delta lasting till 16.4.2023. Especially as Roadster Life sometimes covers interesting non Italian cars the visit may be worth it as there even is in Sinsheim, another big technical museum to visit nearby (35 KM). Both have websites for a first look.

[@Driver599]

The Scarabeo needs some gorgeous paint because what its coated with does not look like any alfa color code I'm familiar with. Speaking of OSI, a car they made, the 2600 Berlina de Luxe always intrigued me. Compared to Alfa's offering, it was a cohesive design that did not seem to take off. Maybe a topic deserving of its own video since it's an Alfa most don't know about. Thank you for your dedication and indepth knowledge.

[@Matteo_Licata]

The OSI De Luxe is a subject I’d love to cover someday, but with about 50 cars made, who knows when I’ll film one! I doubt the shabby paint on the Scarabeo prototype is any Alfa production color, but the car wears its patina rather well nonetheless! Thank you for your appreciation, such warm feedback further motivates me to make more videos like these!

[@danielromeo1859]

Thank you Matteo!

[@torresalex]

Super cool!

[@kevmagill5163]

Matteo...the best decision I've ever made on KZbin, has been subscribing to your channel!...So much fascinating information about some of the most intriguing cars ever made... Bravo!!!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Wow, thank you for these kind words, you’ve just made my day 😊 This motivates me to do better each week

[@8.dayweek]

I had a model of a Scarabeo I received as a birthday gift when I lived in Italy as a child. I remember it was red, the rear clamshell opened up to reveal the transverse 4 cylinder. Wish I still had it 40 years on

[@Matteo_Licata]

Cool!!!

[@Pat_RickX]

Very interesting. Didn't know the background of the Scarabeo. And never heard of the - in my opinion even more fascinating - 116.21 project. By the way: Shame on me I told you yesterday the dashboard of the Scarabeo looks like it was made for the Matta...

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! Well, the Matta's dash panel isn't that different after all, it's a slab of metal too!

[@michaelgautreaux3168]

Yes, I have heard about it. Have known 'bout them for years. Prefer Maseratis but am tickled by how many Alfas I lust over. The Scarabeo (all) & the Monteal are 2 of them. Many thanx 👍👍

[@Happy-wb8gi]

Incredible Otalians, great engineering, great design Ers, today we all copy grom them, we render, we are not designers,the Italians where. Bravo 👏

[@seancain7305]

Well I thought I knew my Alfas, but this was new to me. Another great film, thank you so much for making it 🙂

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you for your appreciation! What I love most about Alfa’s history is exactly this depth and variety: no matter how much you know, there’s always something new!

[@chrtsi6912]

I had the privilege to see it live in the basement of Arese back in 2010!!! What an automotive treasures are lying there... 🤩

[@MicrobyteAlan]

Thank you

[@mikegan73]

Shame it didn't go racing, it's a cool looking race car, I don't think I've seen it before this, nice video from Matteo.👍

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you!!!

[@asgerms]

I admit Matteo, after decades as an alfisti I had no clue about this one. Thanx!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Glad you discovered something new! Thank you!

[@nrs6956]

A unique history. Thank you. Viva Alfa Romeo.

[@Tourist1967]

Excellent video. Somrthing of the Lotus Europa about it.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Glad you liked it, thank you!

[@giannicolonello3240]

il concept è da sempre una delle mie preferite… sempre sul pezzo matteo

[@Matteo_Licata]

Grazie!!! E la bella notizia è che, a quanto mi hanno detto ad Arese, esiste ancora! Pare il proprietario si sia messo in contatto con il centro documentazione in cerca di disegni per restaurarlo ed installare la meccanica che avrebbe dovuto avere. Sono molto curioso di vederlo quando e se sarà finito!

[@giannicolonello3240]

@@Matteo_Licata eh speriamo

[@Andrew-vx2ls]

Very interesting. Thank you Matteo. I must try to see the Alfa Museum. I'm not sure whether you cover "Dinos" but I recently stumbled across the subject of the 1965 206S and this seems a be a fascinating subject to follow up.

[@Matteo_Licata]

I’m not that “into” Ferraris, and I hardly have the chance to film those anyways, so I don’t think I’ll do the 206S. But I will make a Fiat Dino video pretty soon though :)

[@paullacey2999]

At true 'what if' couple of cars.And the story is another sports car is coming soon from Alfa Romeo😍

[@Matteo_Licata]

Yes, I've heard that too :) Should be out next year, at least in concept car form, and I can't wait to see it!

[@BanjoLuke1]

A good video about a most interesting project. I think it is appropriate that many of these unusual prototypes end up going nowhere after one or two are built. The mystery is enhanced by evolutionary dead ends. Production would weaken the legend. However, the lasting impression of all these fascinating videos about Alfa is the implicit reminder that we must accept that most of the fun and excitement is now in the rear-view mirror. In twenty or thirty years, nobody will be excited about a Tonale. Despite the often misquoted words of Henry Ford, for Alfa history isn't bunk. For Alfa, history is everything. For Alfa, the present is bunk and the future just gets worse. Another excellent video about a forgotten dream from a golden age. Bravo!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you for your appreciation! Personally, I disagree with your assessment of the Tonale's potential as a classic in the future and, in general, Alfa's future outlook. I believe there will be people cherishing the Tonale one day, even though that may be hard to imagine now. I saw that happening in my lifetime with countless Alfa models, so I'm sure it'll happen again! Stellantis has the resources and talent to make cool Alfas, and I'm hopeful it will.

[@BanjoLuke1]

@@Matteo_Licata I hope you are right. Alfa as a marque deserves to thrive and to continue to affect the heartbeat of those who both drive their cars and see their cars. I hope you are right. Sincerely.

[@pihermoso11]

This Scarabeo is similarly shaped to the Porsche 904 , I wonder which came first.. halfway to the back of the car it has a same silhouette to the Mazda RX500, a wedge shaped car from the 70s.. This design is like half Porsche 904 and half Mazda RX500

[@motorfab7014]

Sempre riconoscenti Grazie

[@Matteo_Licata]

Grazie a te!

[@kevgermany]

Too many If Onlys in the company. Beautiful car. Would love one.

[@princesssolace4337]

The last Alfa that make me want one was the 155. How long ago was that?

[@laureanosanchez5265]

I don't know if it was already been commented, but it seems that as Argentines we stole... I mean we got inspired by the lines of this prototype for one of our racing cars called "Torino Liebre III"

[@Matteo_Licata]

I don't remember anyone mentioning this before, and I have to thank you for making me discover an automaker I never knew existed! :)

[@harryo6126]

Looks like a van, like the lotus europa, that looked like a van too.

[@jonathanknight8251]

I wonder if Lotus took some of the design cues for the Europa from this car. Similarly, I wonder if it inspired the use of a transverse engine just ahead of the rear wheels for the Elise

[@Matteo_Licata]

It’s possible, but we may never know that!

[@HoosierRooster]

The Lotus Europa and this car took a lot of its design from the early Lola put them side by side

[@jonathanknight8251]

@@HoosierRooster I forgot about that car. Indeed, there are a lot of similarities.

[@marcbrasse747]

Great stuff but the tight budgets it was indeed already obvious at the time. Look at those interior. One can overdo the use of the external color inside. Looks like a simple polyester molding is used as a dashboard. Or is it aluminum? Those ventilation hoses are however even worse. Minimalism taken to the rediculous. The external shapes where still nice though!🙂

[@Matteo_Licata]

These are prototypes meant for testing, so it's normal for their interiors to be an afterthought, cobbled together with no regard for aesthetics.

[@mbon071]

I want one so effn bad

[@rabit818]

More like a grass hopper than a beetle

[@rogerwilson6367]

Lotus Europa ?

[@DavidM-mb1vx]

Bread van look.

[@ronaldellis4662]

Amazing !

[@aldostefanini1392]

Grazia questo 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 salute From South Africa