Alfa Romeo TZ3 Zagato

[Mark Morrissey]

Homage to the TZ1 and TZ2:
http://kilometermagazine.com/artman2..._Concours.html

[Marek]

Its my friend Martin Kapp from germany who owns the car
it was delivered to him on this saterday at this years Villa de Este in Italy
I had lunch with him when they called him up from Zagato and said they where by the gate ,entering the Concorso , boy he was fast
he has been waiting for a couple of month where the delivery date was pushed
so he had no faith in them

by the way he also has a tz1 and a tz2 offcause

here is he sitting in the cockpit

it took the best prototype award at Villa de este

M

[Mark Morrissey]

Wow
Thanks for that Marek. Martin is a lucky man.

[John Z Goriup]

I've attached another link, this one directly from the builder, Zagato, who also built the original series of TZs, aka "Tubolari" due to the steel tube space frames they employed.

http://www.zagato.it/pdf/TZ3Corsa_Specs_UK.pdf


The link reveals all the specs, especially the weight of 850 kilograms. Now that's impressive.......less than most early 911s, but with a lot more HP & torque. Should be a pretty robust drive.

Personally, I think the original is a far more desirable car. It was new, startling in its very pure and literal application of Kamm theory aero design, it won races and it was, at the time, the very embodiment of the "form follows function" school of automotive design thought.

[andrea70]

The Maestro that made BY HAND the body of that car in 30 days (!!!) Is now working on my car....
You shuold know him.... It's a tipical italian craftsmen genius.... ...

Compliment to mr Kapp, a TRUE giant !!!

[Mark Morrissey]

I couldn't agree more John. So smitten was I after seeing one at Lime Rock Park in 2003 when I was driving my '74 GTV, I had to put it to canvas

[Mike Baum]

Just to complete the picture, here is the TZ2. This time, Zagato went fiberglass with the body (I think one was made in aluminum).

These cars are beyond breath taking. Seeing them race every year at the Historics at Laguna Seca is one of the highlights of the Monterey weekend.

Zagato has quite the history with Alfa Romeo, starting with the 6C 1500, then the immortal, more famous 6C 1750.

They also did a few 8C 2300 (Yours for a modest $6 - $7M) from 1931 - 1934, then a pause until the post-war 1900SSZ (with 28 built).

The collaboration on the Giuliettas - that ultimately led to the Giulia-based TZ1 and TZ2 - started almost as an "accident". Alfa Romeo decided to assign the racing model to Bertone, the Sprint Speciale and the first 100 SS were built in aluminum. However, privateer racers brought their regular Giulietta Sprint Veloces to Zagato and asked them to rip off the body and built a lighter one around the chassis. Those cars (Commonly reverred to as the SVZ) beat the crap out of the SS and Alfa Romeo reluctantly awarded Zagato with a small-series production of the SZ, the Sprint Speciale morphed into a luxury GT special version of the Giulietta and Giula series. The first SZ series are the very cute round tails, the latter series moved to a Kamm-tail and they look close to the TZ1, that replaced it. The TZs are based on Giulia underpinnings and with a tubular frame.

If you want ant SZ or TZ iteration, prices start at around $250k for the round tail SZ and end at around $4M for one of the 12 TZ2 built. But pay close attention: There are more fakes out there than anything else and the same serial number are known to exist for 2 or 3 cars ...

Zagatos rock!


Mike

[John Z Goriup]

Here, in one photograph I took at Sears Point earlier this year at the first CSRG event of '10, which celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Alfa-Romeo marque, you can see the gensis of the entire Zagato Tubolari line of cars.......each successive model better able to win its class, faster, and more alluring than its predecessor.

Few people ever mention the Junior Zagato, but it too is a great little car, and before prices got out of hand, made a delightful daily driver. Like a lot of small Italian sports cars, the relationship between exterior size and interior space for passengers of a Jr. Z is downright astounding.

Sorry......got maudlin & drifted off into fantasies. Yes, congrats to Martin and all that, but I still lust after a Tubolare for the road.

[Mike Baum]

.. Talking about a Junior Z ... Here is mine. Imported from the Netherlands in 2005. Will be at the Quail this year in the Alfa Coach builder class. Mine is a very original 1600 - one of 402 made (Numer 20). It is a very fun driver that (sometimes) rivals the 911S.

Also owned a Abarth double bubble (Crappy driver) and a Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato (Elegant, underpowered, Ferrari-territory maintenance).

Gotta love 'em all though.

[Tom F.]

Funny to see this on a Porsche forum. The incentive for Alfa to build the first SZs was to beat Porsche! Alfa was not successful, at first, with the Giulietta Sprint. This led to the Sprint Veloces, or lightweights as they're known today. Then came the SZ. Alfa had success with both of these "Porsche" beaters. There's a great article in a recent Giuliettaletta about this.

It's too bad that Alfa didn't evolve their cars throught the 60s, the way that Porsche did. Might not have Fiat in control of Alfa today.