Dallara Stradale History

Dallara unveiled the Stradale in November 2017 on the occasion of founder Giampaolo Dallara's 81st birthday, marking the company's first foray into road-legal cars after 45 years of building only racing chassis. The car was built to distil the Colin Chapman philosophy of lightness: a carbon-fibre monocoque body weighing just 855 kg (1,885 lb) dry, combined with a 400 PS (395 hp) 2.3-litre turbocharged Ford EcoBoost inline-four — the same basic engine used in the Ford Focus RS, retuned by Bosch — for a 0–60 mph time of around 3.2 seconds.

What sets the Stradale apart is its modular body concept: the base car is an open barchetta with no doors or roof, but customers can fit interchangeable bolt-on panels to transform it into a roadster, targa, or closed berlinetta, all without tools in a matter of minutes. An optional rear wing raises aerodynamic downforce to 853 kg at maximum speed — more than the car itself weighs — underlining Dallara's racing DNA. Production was capped at no more than 600 units over the first five years, with a starting price of roughly €191,000 (approximately US$236,000 before taxes).

The Stradale has been produced at Dallara's home in Varano de' Melegari, near Parma, the same facility where the company builds its IndyCar and Formula championship chassis. It represents a deliberate decision to demonstrate Dallara's engineering capabilities to a road-car audience rather than a commercial volume play, and the limited run has kept it highly exclusive since its deliveries began in 2017.