1965 Alfa Romeo TZ-1 Berlinetta

The contentious world of Alfa historians and experts had a moment of rare consensus on this TZ, and no one questioned its parentage

by Donald Osborne

Though immensely successful as a competition car, Alfa Romeo’s Giulietta Sprint Zagato had been based on the road-going Giulietta Spider platform, a compromise that suited clients who wanted a touring car that could be raced on weekends.

But as the 1960s dawned, the need to keep the Milanese marque’s name at the fore in international GT racing led to an entirely new Alfa Romeo, one designed from the outset with competition in mind. The result was that most desirable of post-war, 4-cylinder Alfa Romeos—the Giulia Tubolare Zagato, or TZ, for short.

First displayed in prototype form at the Turin Motor Show in October 1962, this new competizione model took its Giulia designation from Alfa Romeo’s recently introduced 1.6-liter passenger car range. The Giulia TZ was constructed around a state-of-the-art, multi-tubular spaceframe—hence the name tubolare—and complemented by all-round independent suspension and four-wheel disc brakes.

Like its SZ...