1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ

Alfa Romeo was very successful in the 1920s and early 1930s in circuit, distance, and hill climb events in Europe. German teams from Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union overshadowed many teams racing endeavors, including Alfa Romeo, during the late 1930s. After World War II, Alfa Romeo returned to its winning ways, with several privateers using pre-war 8C 2900s. After summarily dominating the first two postwar Formula 1 championships, the factory Alfetta 158/159 Grand Prix cars withdrew from frontline competition in 1951. The marque's competition legacy was kept alive during the 1950s by privateers, most notably those who ran Zagato-bodied variants of the Giulietta and 1900 models. The list of successful race cars included the Sprint Veloce Zagato (SVZ) cars, which first appeared in 1956. Their success inspired Alfa Romeo to commission Zagato to create the Sprint Zagato (SZ), as a cataloged model in 1960.

In 1963, the SZ was succeeded by the Tubolare Zagato (TZ), named for the new tube-framed chassis it was built around. The Alfa Romeo factory's official race team, Autodelta, built them in their shops and was given an aerodynamic bodywork with power being sourced from a modified DOHC 1,570cc engine. The 1,455 lb vehicle was lightweight and rigid, with powerful disc brakes (inboard at the rear), and modified 105 Series running gear with stiffer springing, limited slip differential, taller fifth gear, and a fully independent rear suspension. The engine was mounted at a 20-degree angle that required specially cast components, including the intake manifold and the sump. With Weber carburetors, the engine offered 112 horsepower in street specification. Examples tuned for racing produced approximately 170 horsepower, giving it a top speed of 215 km/h.

One of the earliest Tubolare Zagatos was piloted by Lorenzo Bandini to a class victory and 2nd overall finish during the model's racing debut at the Coppa FISA at Monza in November of 1963. This was followed by a string of class victories at 1964 events, including the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Targa Florio, the Nürburgring 1000 KM, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Tour de France, the Coupe des Alpes, the Tour de Corse, and the Critérium des Cévennes.

Production of the TZ (commonly referred to as the TZ1) continued through 1965, with 112 examples built. They were among the most dominant and resilient competition cars of their era.

A new version of TZ was introduced at the Turin Auto Show in 1964 in the Zagato stand. The light alloy body of the TZ1 was replaced by an even more streamlined fiberglass body that offered lower drag, enhanced rigidity, and a reduced weight of 620 kg. Called the TZ2, these were strictly built as racing cars and powered by an Autodelta-prepared twin plug, dry sump lubrication, dual overhead cam, straight-4 engine displacing 1,570cc and offering around 170 horsepower. Additional changes were made to the rear window, which was now a single unit rather than the three-part window of the TZ. Just 12 examples of the TZ2 were built.

The TZ name was revived in the early 2010s with the introduction of the Zagato TZ3, with 1 Corsa and 9 Stradales ultimately built. The TZ3 Corsa was a track version of the TZ3, built to celebrate 100 years of Alfa Romeo in racing. Based on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, it was first shown in 2010 at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Italy. It had a carbon fiber frame, hand-beaten aluminum body, and was powered by a 4.2-liter V8 engine offering 420 horsepower. The TZ3 Stradale was based on the Dodge Viper ACR-X chassis and powered by the ACR-X's 8.4-liter Viper all-aluminum 90-degree overhead valve 2-valve V10 engine offering 600 horsepower.

by Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2020