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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato - if Mario Andretti were a car

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Created on April 3, 2020

Text:

Daniel Koch

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

Bruno von Rotz

Chrysler / FCA Group

Archiv

Daniel Reinhard

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

Bruno von Rotz

Chrysler / FCA Group

Archiv

Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - Spectacular Zagato rear end

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - A rare sight

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - The B-pillar is practically invisible

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - Dramatic side line

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - With only nine examples, you are unlikely to ever see a TZ3 in the wild

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - Double bubble roof, typical Zagato

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - Anyone who sees this sight in the rear-view mirror will voluntarily give way

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - Powerful front end

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - Rear lights from the Alfa Romeo 8C?

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - Unusual design at the rear

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - A hood like a sculpture

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - Wheels on the Zagato

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - Long hood

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - Z for Zagato

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - Sidepipes like on the Viper

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - Sporty cockpit

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - 10 years ago, touchscreens were not yet an issue

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - With 202 miles like new

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - Revs up to 6500 rpm

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - 6-speed manual gearbox like in the Viper

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - V10 engine

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - Sills as a statement

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - Viper heart in the TZ3

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato (2010) - Viper Owner's Manual

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 (2011) - at the Rallye Historique Schloss Bensberg Classics 2016

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 (2011) - Andrea Zagato with his coupé at the Rallye Historique Schloss Bensberg Classics 2016

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The latest incarnation of the Alfa Romeo Zagato (TZ3)

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Three generations of Alfa Romeo Zagato - TZ1, TZ2 and TZ3 - at the Pantheon Basel

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ 2 (1966) - even flatter and more efficient than its predecessor

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1962) - Rear suspension

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1962) - Front suspension

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1962) - Premiere at the 1962 Turin Motor Show, the rear end was not yet in its final form

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1962) - Premiere at the 1962 Turin Motor Show, the front was not yet in its final form

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1963) - 102 units were built

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1963) - at the Turin Motor Show

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1963) - at the 1963 Turin Motor Show

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1963) - the spare wheel in the rear

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1963) - the design of the rear end increased the top speed

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1963) - the streamlined bodywork was created by Zagato

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1963) - front view

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1963) - Racing technology attractively packaged by Zagato

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1963) - tubular frame and lightweight construction by Zagato

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1964) - at the 1964 Sebring race, Bussinello-Bulgari-Sanes retired after coming into the line of fire of a Cobra

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1964) - the rear end changed again after the premiere in Turin, here the final version at the Geneva Motor Show

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1964) - the streamlined crested rear end

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1964) - Class victory at the 1964 Targa Florio, the picture shows the car finishing in 4th place

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1964) - front view with additional ventilation options for the engine - here closed

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1965) - a race-proven specimen

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Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ (1961) - predecessor of the Giulia TZ, the shape was also largely retained for the Giulia TZ

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Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ (1962) - elegant Zagato creation in aluminum

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Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ (1962) - streamlined and minimalist, yet elegant

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Dodge Viper ACR (2010) - Racing for the road

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Dodge Viper ACR (2010) - Snakeskin Edition

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Summary

Mario Andretti is an Italian-American, just like the rare Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale by Zagato. Although the American ten-cylinder engine in the Italian tailor-made suit is not a one-off, only nine of them were built. Now one of them is going under the hammer at an RM/Sotheby's auction...

This article contains the following chapters

US engines in European vehicles
Capable of winning a majority?
A role model from the past
The drives could hardly be more different
Viper technology
Italian-American friendship

Estimated reading time: 3min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The Italian-American Mario Andretti is one of the most successful and versatile racing drivers in American history. Among many other successes, he won the Indy 500 race in 1969 and crowned his career in 1978 with the Formula 1 Drivers' World Championship in the legendary Lotus 78, which established the wing car era in the premier class of motorsport. The Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato is also an Italian with American ingredients, although it may not be as well known as Mario... There have been many British sports cars with large V8 engines from the USA, such as Carroll Shelby's Cobra or the Jensen Interceptor, to name just two. But many Italians also liked to use large-volume engines from the other side of the Atlantic, such as De Tomaso, Bizzarini or Iso.

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