1964 Alfa Romeo TZ1

The Alfa Romeo 105 Series Giulia range was introduced at Monza in 1962 and came with a chassis based on the previous Giulietta and 101 series. It had suspension upgrades and, for the first time, disc brakes. The front suspension setup was similar to the standard Giulia while the rear was given an independent competition type to minimize unsprung weight. A competition Giulia model soon followed and made its debut at the 1963 FISA Monza Cup where it captured the first four places in its class. It was called the Giulia TZ which referenced its 'Tubolare' spaceframe chassis and lightweight aluminum 'Zagato' coachwork. After FIA homologation requirements for the Gran Turismo category were satisfied, which required at least 100 units to be produced, it immediately began racing and winning in European and North American races.

The early TZ examples are known as the TZ-1 and later models as the TZ-2. The engine was a 1,570cc unit which it shared with the Sprint Speciale and Spider Veloce. The engine was tilted in the frame which allowed for a reduction in the bonnet height. It was mated to a transmission that had heavy-duty, close-ratio gears and a quick short-throw lever. The development was overseen by Autodelta, led by ex-Ferrari engineer Carlo Chiti. The aerodynamics were aided by the research of Dr. Wunibald Kamm, resulting in the rear bodywork called the 'coda tronca,' also known as the Kamm tail.

The lightweight coupe of just 658 kilograms had exceptional high torsional superiority and could achieve speeds up to 240 kilometers per hour. It offered excellent handling which helped it achieve many victories, including the Alpine Rally in 1964. It had class wins at the world's largest stages, including Sebring, LeMans, Targa Florio, and Nürburgring.

The new version of the TZ was introduced in 1964 at the Turin Auto Show. These had an even more streamlined fiberglass body that had lower drag and weighed less than the prior aluminum coachwork. These newer models are often referred to as the TZ2. Whereas the TZ1 was built for both the road and the track, the TZ2 was built for racing. Power was from an Autodelta-prepared twin plug 1570cc dual overhead cam four-cylinder engine offering approximately 170 horsepower.

Development of the TZ cars continued until the close of 1965, as the company turned its attention to the new GTA racing production. A total of 12 examples of the TZ2 were built. Between 1963 and 1965, Alfa Romeo built 112 units of the first TZ models.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe
Chassis number: 66

The Alfa Romeo Giulia Tubolare Zagato, or TZ, was developed as an all-out race model for 1964 International GT racing and was incredibly successful, with class (1600) wins at Monza, Sebring (driven by Chuck Stoddard, it finished 13th overall in the midst of a pack of Shelby Cobras and Ferraris), Targa Florio, Nurburgring 1000km and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The TZ was constructed in limited numbers (about 110) at Alfa's racing subsidiary, Autodelta. It's lightweight, Kamm-tailed aluminum alloy coachwork was designed and hand-built by Carrozzeria Zagato, and combined with a state-of-the-art multi-tubular (Tubolare) space frame and the complete vehicle weighs only 1,500 pounds. The engine is a 1570cc twin-cam, twin plug, four-cylinder, producing about 160 horsepower. It features a 5-speed gearbox by Colotti. The race engine was built by super-tuner Facetti.

Coupe
Chassis number: 100-039
Engine number: 750038

This 1964 Alfa Romeo TZ-1 is a factory-built competition car with competition features such as aluminum knock-off wheels and a special front hood featuring GTO-type air intakes. This car was sold new to the U.S. and campaigned all over the Southwest.

This car was purchased by its present owner around 2005 at the Monterey Historics and was used in competition at the Coronado Race in October of 2005. The car is its original color, sky blue with competition white nose. Chassis was restored in 2006 by Dave Vegher.

The car is now equipped with a twin-plug head and pretty much all of the original spec equipment. It has close ratio gears and a 5.12 limited slip rear end.

The car is well known on the West Coast and has appeared in many vintage events over the last 30 years. It has adorned the pages of many magazines and the latest Pat Braden book, 'Alfa Romeo All-Alloy Twin Cam Companion 1954-1994.' It has also appeared on the front cover of 'Alfa Romeo' and will appear in a limited edition calendar commemorating Alfas being featured at the Concorso Italiano and Pebble Beach in 2005.

Coupe
Chassis number: 10511.750067

This Zagato-bodied vehicle, chassis n. 10511.750067, is Ruby red with a black interior. From the available records, it appears that this car was delivered originally to the late Gianni Lurani, the well-known Italian motorsports journalist and gentleman driver. In the early 1980s, it was owned by Sandro Munari, who was a world-class rally driver and touring car racer. In 1984, the car was owned by Giuseppe Lucchini, the founder of the Dallara F1 team and creator of the Historic Mille Miglia, who used this car to win the FISA Historic GT Championship that year.

Peter Sachs acquired the TZ from Luccini with a spare motor in 1986. Both motors had been prepared by Mirabella Racing in Brescia for Luchini. Peter Sachs raced the TZ for several years in historic races.

Peter Sachs did a full cosmetic restoration of this car, bringing it back to its original specification in visual terms. Both motors have been slightly detuned in that they are fitted with rally-type cams that give full power at 158 horsepower at 7500 as opposed to the full race cams which go up to 7500 with about 5 more hp. The TZ-1 has a full set of current FIA Historic Vehicle documents. The car came with numerous spare parts, including two racing engines, and was recently acquired by Mr. Leerdam from Peter Sachs.

Coupe
Chassis number: AR 10511AR750060

The Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ or Tubolare Zagato, manufactured from 1963 to 1967, featured an advanced tubular space-frame chassis and aluminum Zagato coachwork. The engine, developed by Alfa's best engineers, Virgilio Conrero and Carlo Facetti, was a 1.6-liter, 4-cylinder twin-cam, canted at an angle to lower the bonnet line and increase airflow to the car's distinctive Kamm tail. Alfa TZs were built as either lightweight road-going sports cars or as pure racing cars, and they scored many successes on the racetracks of Europe, where they became known as Alfa Romeo's Ferrari GTO beater. As soon as they were ready, four competition TZ1s were entered at the 1963 FISA Monza Cup, where they took the first four places in their class. By the beginning of the 1964 race season, the TZ was homologated by the FIA, meaning that at least 100 cars were built to qualify for the Gran Turismo class. Although records are not exact, it is thought that 110 TZs were eventually sold by Alfa Romeo.

Coupe
Chassis number: TZ 016

The Alfa Romeo TZ1 Zagato Coupe was developed in collaboration with Autodelta, Alfa Romeo's competition department, led by ex-Ferrari engineer Carlo Chiti. The TZ1 featured Alfa's 1.6-liter twin cam engine, as used in the 105 series Alfa Romeo GTA, which propelled the car to a top speed of around 150 mph. The rear bodywork has a cut-off Kamm tail designed by Dr. Wunibald Kamm and called the 'Coda Tronca,' meaning short tail in Italian. The Alfa TZs were extremely successful, winning their class at LeMans, Sebring, the Nurburgring, the Targa Florio, and the Coupes des Alpes.

The Alfa TZ1 is a very special competition car built in extremely limited numbers. The chassis is a dedicated tubular unit that weighs just 125 pounds. With a total dry weight of under 1500 pounds, TZs were incredibly successful, sweeping their class at LeMans, Sebring, the Nurburgring, the Targa Florio, and the Coupes des Alpes.

This car, TZ 016, was delivered new in Los Angeles in 1964 to Lou Mellon and has period history in SCCA Club Racing. In 1965, TZ 016 was sold to the Brengles, owners of the San Diego Alfa Romeo dealer Motech Ltd. It subsequently scored a second in class finish at the 1966 American Road Race of Champions at Riverside driven by Nadeene Brengle. Over the next several decades, the car was used in many club and vintage events, including several Monterey Historics. The car was restored to its 1966 ARRC specification in 2019.

In the very small series of special Alfa TZs, this car has a remarkable, unbroken history from new. In addition to the successful period competition, it resides with only its sixth owner in over 50 years.

Coupe
Chassis number: 750052

After Alfa Romeo retired from racing in 1951, the Alfa Romeo engineers quickly established an experimental department to continue with development in experimental capacity. The racing successes of the 1950s were accomplished with various Alfa Romeo sports cars including the Disco Volante and 1900 sedan. Competition was brought to a new level with the Giulia Tubolare Zagato of the 1960s. Designed for motorsports, the GTZ were Spartan and minimalistic. The space frame chassis was comprised of small bore tubing and weighed just over a hundred pounds. The craftsmen of Zagato provided the svelte and lightweight coachwork. The result was a formidable competitor with a potent engine couple with lightweight construction and finely tuned mechanical components.

This particular example, chassis number 750052, is powered by an inline, four-cylinder, double overhead camshaft engine displacing 1570cc and offering 175 bhp at 6,500 RPM. It was one of four GTZs entered at the 1964 Sebring race by factory-aided Scuderia Saint Ambroeus and driven by Chuck Stoddard and Jim Kaser. This was the most successful of those four cars at Sebring, winning its 1600 GT class and finished the race despite a maladjusted clutch.

After Sebring, the car was acquired by Dr. Paul Tenney who received factory support for a season of SCCA racing.

This car is currently part of the Mile Collier collection in Naples, Florida.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe
Chassis number: 38

This car is one of nine Giulia Tubolare Zagatos, or TZs, that were sold new to the United States. Research indicates that 102 of these cars were constructed of aluminum, as this car is, and three bodies were made of fiberlgass. Featuring sophisticated aerodynamics penned by Ercole Spada and a chassis design by Carlo Chiti and Alfa Romeo's racing subsidiary, Autodelta, they were highly competitive in the under-two-liter class in international racing (LeMans, Sebring, Targa Florio) despite having less powerful engines than many competitors.

A survivor, this car competed in 72 races from 1964 to 2006, including the Monterey Historics for seven years, and miraculously was never crashed. It is one of an estimated 14 TZs equipped with knock-off wheels, an especially attractive feature. In 1964 Preston Erickson, sales manager at Rezzaghi Motors in San Francisco, took delivery for the first owner, Noel Armstrong of El Paso, Texas, who retained it until 1970. Subsequently, it passed through several owners until the current owner acquired the car in 2015 and performed an authentic restoration.

Early in the 1950's Alfa Romeo had revised their production methods and had created a new line of models. These new vehicles were mid-sized with sporty, small-capacity engines. The Giulietta was introduced near the close of the 1950's and was first offered with the Type 101 engine, a 1290cc unit. By now Alfa Romeo had a wide range of body style configurations including the four-door saloons, Sprint Coupes, Spider, station wagons, and the Sprint Speciale. The Sprint Special came in two configurations, one by Bertone and the other by Zagato. Bertone's design was first offered mid-1959. Zagatos were first available in early 1960. Both Zagato and Bertone's design were based on the Giulietta chassis and running gear but were void of bumpers. Their intentions for these vehicles were competition. Zagato's creations were constructed of light alloy bodies and were more performance-oriented. Bertone's creations outsold Zagato's by 6-to-1, and soon began outfitting the vehicles with luxurious interiors.

Most of the Zagato's were constructed with rounded front and tail treatments though near the end of the 200 produced, they experimented with a 'coda tronca' Kamm tail treatment.

Racing has always been important for most automobiles manufacturers and Alfa Romeo was beginning to realize that their engines would do well in competition since they were compact, lightweight, powerful, and durable. Though the board would not sanction a factory race program they did understand the importance of racing and how it is used to promote products.

In 1962 the Giulia range of cars, also known as the 105 series, was introduced and served as a replacement for the Giulietta. These were powered by 1570 cc engines and shared the same bodies as the Giulietta. The five-speed manual gearbox was operated by a column-mounted shift. The suspension was modified in the rear to improve handling but remained the same in the front.

Just like the Giulietta series, the Giulia came in multiple body styles including the four-door Berlina, spider, TZ, sprint, and Sprint Speciale.

With racing in mind, Alfa Romeo designed and built the TZ series. The TZ, meaning Tubolare Zagato, was outfitted with a light alloy body, tubular frame, disc brakes, and independent suspension. The performance of the vehicle was amplified by its light body and responsive and effective handling. The large disc brakes provided excellent stopping power. Most of the parts were produced in the main factory in Portello. The building of the car, however, was entrusted to the head competitions engineer, Carlo Chiti of Autodelta based at Udine. The base 1570cc engine produced about 90 horsepower. The engine installed in the TZ competition cars produced around 170 horsepower. This boost in horsepower was made possible, in part, through twin-plug cylinder heads by Autodelta. To reduce weight and improve safety, the side glass windows were removed and replaced with Perspex.

Road cars were commonly given a single-plug cylinder head, leather interior, and retained their glass window.

In 1963 these lightweight and capable cars proved their potential by winning the FISA Cup. In nearly every competition event that these cars were entered, they provided podium finishes for their drivers. They were entered in events such as hill climbs, Sebring, the Targa Florio, Monza, Spa, Nurburgring, and LeMans.

by Dan Vaughan