‘They say the T33/6/12 was designed with ‘passion,’ which is Italian for ‘excessive maintenance requirements.’
On April 1, 1970, shortly after the 12 Hours of Sebring, Alfa Romeo tested their six-wheeled, twelve-cylinder T33/6/12 in secret at Sebring, aiming to challenge the Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512.
The car featured a unique 5-litre V12 engine with a 60-degree, four-valve setup and a distinctive six-wheel design.
Inspired by Alfa’s design, other manufacturers began developing six-wheeled racers: Ferrari with the 312/T6, Tyrrell with the P34, March with the 2-4-0, and Williams with the FW08B.
These multi-wheel designs were later banned in the World Sportscar Championship and Formula 1.
On a quiet April night in Sebring, a group of high school students discovered Alfa Romeo’s secret six-wheeled T33/6/12 prototype hidden in a track hangar.
With boldness and luck, they managed to bypass security, start the car, and vanish into the night, leaving a trail of tyre marks and a deep roar echoing across the track.
Alfa Romeo officials searched desperately, but the car remained missing for two weeks.
The T33’s chassis was eventually found abandoned in an orange grove, stripped of its prized V12 engine—which was never recovered.
Rumours spread of a mysterious, V12-powered hot rod seen tearing through Sebring’s back roads, thought to be fitted with the missing engine.
Embarrassed by the incident, Alfa Romeo cancelled the T33/6/12 project, leaving behind a story of youthful audacity and a myth that still lingers in racing folklore.
‘Alfa Romeo called it theft; the students called it an extracurricular activity with a top speed of 186 mph.’
