Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ is a sports car produced by the Milanese car manufacturer Alfa Romeo from 1960 to 1963. Part of the cars derived from the Giulietta such as the Giulietta Sprint, its acronym SZ derives from Sport Zagato. The “Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato stood out for its performance, which at the time was relevant in relation to its 1300 cc displacement and was also agile, lean, expressing sportiness and elegance. In fact, the Milanese car manufacturer counted on the collaboration of two important coachbuilders such as Bertone for the “Giulietta Sprint” and Pininfarina first for the “Giulietta Spider” and, later, for the “Duetto“. The Giulietta family was initially made up of the sedan versions, the TI (Turismo Internazionale), the Sprint, the Sprint Veloce, the Spider and the Spider Veloce. The genesis of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato is linked to a racing accident. At the 1956 Mille Miglia the brothers Dore and Carlo Leto from Priolo, at the start with one of the five official Sprint Veloce, near Radicofani lose control of the car and end up in the Ombrone riverbed. The drivers come out more or less unharmed, but the car is half-destroyed. Although the repair estimate was hopeless, the gentlemen drivers do not lose heart and turn to the coachbuilder Zagato. In four months of work, the car was rebuilt with a new tubular frame and aluminum alloy bodywork, resulting in a weight saving of around 135 kg, while also allowing for a much more streamlined and aerodynamic line. The first example of the definitive commercial version was completed on December 19, 1959: it had faired headlights, to improve aerodynamic penetration, and door opening buttons with simple wing grips. The model officially debuts in public on March 3, 1960 at the Geneva Motor Show with some differences compared to the first specimen, such as the headlights without transparent caps, the more rounded front wheel arches and the doors with real handles, even if small. The Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato “101.26 series” was produced in a very limited number of units (210 in all) between 1959 and 1961. There are two versions of the Giulietta SZ called by enthusiasts “coda tonda” for the rounded rear part and “coda tronca” “for the rear part which ends in a more angular, almost” truncated “way to follow aerodynamic dictates.