1959 Alfa Romeo Sprint Zagato

Chassis #1495-06716 was originally a Spider Veloce, sold new to a German private racer. In 1960, it was re-bodied by Zagato in their 'football' style before that car entered series production. It came to the United States in the early 1960s and was owned by Fred Amigo, until his death in 2000. It is one of very few preserved Zagato's because although Zagato's bodies were light and attractive, they weren't very robust.

Its entire history is known and recorded.

This 1959 Alfa Romeo Sprint Zagato is powered by a 1300cc four-cylinder engine capable of producing 100 horsepower. It has a 5-speed manual gearbox and an Alfa Giulietta suspension. The car rides on 165x15 Pirelli tires and is reported at getting 25 mpg.

Legendary coachbuilder Zagato created a special version of the Giulietta for use in competition. The result was dubbed the Sprint Zagato, commonly called the 'SZ'. This creation was built atop the shorter Giulietta chassis and given the mechanical prowess of the Sprint Veloce. The aluminum body panels were hand formed at Zagato's workshop using designs by Franco Scaglione of the Bertone Studio. The aluminum bodies were placed on the space-frame chassis and given weight-saving perspex side windows. The interior was void of non-essential items resulting in a very lightweight vehicle.

The public was given an opportunity to view the SZ in all its glory at the 1960 Geneva Motorshow. There were 200 examples created, with the final 30 receiving a longer tail called the 'Coda Tronca.' This, along with its shortened body, was done in hopes of slicing through the air in a more efficient fashion. Other improvements included disc brakes in the front, a lower roof, a cut-off Kamm tail, and a front air intake that had been narrowed.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2008