In a certain sense, Giulia TZ was the godmother of Auto Delta, a company created with the specific purpose of assembling and putting this wonderful car in perfect order and reaching the requested number of 100 examples produced, thus ensuring the approval of the model for the GT category.
In fact, the Giulia Tubolare Zagato (the TZ precisely) was designed, made and tested entirely at the SES (Special Experience Service) of the Portello factory, and the first examples (3) were assembled at ESPE DIPRE. Although there are some doubts about this, the fact is that only from the fourth example, in May 1963, did the production program start at Auto Delta of Lodovico and Gianni Chizzola, in the small factory in Tavagnacco di Feletto Umberto, near Udine.
Ing. Carlo Chiti was still engaged with ATS at Pontecchio Marconi, but thanks to that some of important improvements were made on TZ cars, as specialized ATS technicians were available at Ing. Chiti’s disposal and willing to help.
Production of the TZ started following a particular and very unusual scheme. The chassis produced by the Ambrosini company of Passignano sul Trasimeno were sent to the Zagato body shop in Milan to be "dressed" with the beautiful bodywork conceived and designed by the young Ercole Spada, creator of the shape destined to remain in the history of car design as one of the examples of Italian style.
Then, with the interiors assembled, the cars, together with unmounted engine, gearbox, suspensions and other mechanical components… shipped in boxes but produced by Alfa Romeo (brakes came directly from England)… everything was loaded onto the car transporter and transported to the Auto Delta workshops in Feletto Umberto where the TZ was assembled and tuned.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia Tubolare Zagato, which remained in history with its acronym TZ was the car created with the difficult task of bringing the brand, which had been absent from the tracks for a decade, back to the top of motor racing, where Alfa Romeo undoubtedly belonged…with its emblazoned name and its unique heritage.
In truth, the history of this car began a few years before 1963 when the IRI (Institute of Industrial Reconstruction) ordered Alfa Romeo to design and prepare the TZ "for series production" as the SES talented technicians tried not to lose pace with the development of other sports cars that were important, if not the main part of the Portello factory DNA.
In 1958 it was decided to initiate a high-performance car project but with a small displacement engine, relying on Carlo Abarth, the undisputed master in the preparation of engines with not too large displacements. Abarth, fascinated by the twin-cam engine that equipped the Giulietta 1300, reduced the displacement even further, reaching 1000 cc and 90 HP of power.
For his cars, Abarth used to rely on existing bodies, taken from production, then developing them according to his plans, but he was convinced by a young and talented Alfa Romeo engineer, Mario Colucci, second in command as Mr. Abarth's assistant, to accept a trellis space frame, which Colucci designed for the new car. It was a rigid construction and robust enough to withstand the power of the engine, but weighing just 50 kg. and suitable to accommodate the specially designed bodywork.
Alfa Romeo - Abarth 1000 Chassis
The magical hand of Franco Scaglione, while under the employ of Nuccio Bertone, did the rest. The result was a visually pleasing coupé with a high degree of aerodynamics which, exhibited at the Torino Motor Show, was admired and judged in superlative terms.
Alfa Romeo Abarth, Torino Motor Show 1958
But as often happened, nothing came of it.
FIAT, irritated by Alfa's attempt to create special relationship with "their" preparer Carlo Abarth, did everything possible to end this venture, and Alfa Romeo, for its part, concluded that the project would expose the factory to high costs. Thus, the prototype, the only example completed on one of the three frames made, ended up in the basement of the Portello factory among other unfinished projects.
The attempt to produce this new car ended in 1958 even before it was born. When a new wind arrived in Alfa Romeo in the 1960's, President Luraghi announced the dreams of the original designers.
With the changed climate at the Board of Directors of the Portello brand, a new chapter opened for the fantastic engine that was the heart of the Giulietta and Giulia (and also ideal for use in sports cars). When Luraghi asked the SES to design a "real" sports car with these engines, Giuseppe Busso immediately thought of the prematurely shelved Alfa-Abarth project, which could be reworked for the purpose.
Ing. Colucci was no longer available because he was now employed by Abarth where he remained with the role of technical director. But the chassis he made for a Alfa Romeo was a splendid basis for creating a new car with a larger and more powerful engine.
Alfa Romeo TZ chassis
Busso started from that unfinished project, maintaining the "space frame" made with small diameter tubes but reinforced the structure by doubling lateral load-bearing tubes…thus respecting the weight distribution and geometry of the project.
The result was a chassis that was even more rigid and resistant to dynamic stress, which could accommodate engines with much greater power than planed by Ing. Colucci and Abarth. The car, designed as an open two-seater with an unmistakenly sleek racing style, was entrusted for the bodywork to Elio Zagato and his young stylist Ercole Spada.
Zagato had already created the excellent SZ which was one of the flagship cars used by private drivers who defended the Alfa Romeo brand in racing, and Ercole Spada, a designer with great skills, knew how to guess the harmonious shapes which also possessed the necessary aerodynamic quality.
The first spider version of the TZ prototype by Ercole Spada
TZ spider prototype testing at Monza
Without a wind tunnel but with the help of the factory owner, as well as (excellent) driver Elio Zagato using the Milan - Bergamo state road as a shooting range, these two wizards, kilometer after kilometer, perfected the project, eliminating weak points identified in the tests. The aerodynamics of the "barchetta" version had proven to be dubious and Spada, fascinated by Wunibald Kamm's theories, redesigned the car, transforming it into an aerodynamic coupé.
Cutting off the tail, according to Kamm's calculations, was to ensure a certain degree of downforce, and guarantee greater stability, road holding, and greater maximum speed. Thus it was on a stretch of public road with stopwatch in hand, pencil and sheet of paper, a design of rare beauty and extraordinary dynamic effectiveness was born.
TZ in its first coupe test form
The TZ, almost identical in shape to the car we know today, was presented at the Torino Motor Show in October 1962. The main difference from the version we know today were rectangular front lights, wanted by Busso, but soon changed to round ones as chosen by Spada.
First prototype exposed to public view at Torino Motor Show in 1962
With the first examples completed in Portello in the DIPRE ESPE department, the decisive step was taken, but to obtain approval for the GT category, a minimum number of one hundred running examples had to be produced.
It was precisely this need that was the driving force behind creation of Auto Delta, a small factory-workshop, which in President Luraghi's vision offered the solution for the production program of the new Giulia TZ (Tubolare Zagato).
In May 1963, starting from chassis number AR750004, the great adventure of the TZ in Tavagnacco di Feletto Umberto began.
The TZ in Auto Delta at Feletto Umberto in 1963
The TZ was intended for racing. Based on the Alfa Giulia, (its internal design code is 105.11) the TZ shared numerous mechanical parts with the Giulia TI, but given its racing concept… was built on the specially designed chassis.
TZ mechanical view
The engine delivered from 112 HP up to 155 HP in the racing version.
Subsequently, the engine received the dual ignition cylinder head, also used for the evolution of the TZ 2 model, produced entirely at Autodelta in Settimo Milanese. For the TZ 2, the engine developed by Autodelta delivered 170 HP, was equipped with a dry sump, and the cars were used exclusively in competitions.
The bodywork of the car was made of fiberglass, which in addition to the lower weight, gave the structure rigidity. It was developed and produced by Balzaretti & Modigliani and the car weighed only 620 kg.
The TZ 2 presented for the first time in 1964.
The TZ and TZ 2 were set up in a single coupe version with aluminum bodywork for the TZ but three examples received the fiberglass bodywork also produced by Balzaretti & Modigliani.
Fiberglass body for the TZ by Balzaretti & Modiglini
Twelve Hours of Sebring with Ing. Carlo Chiti in 1966.
Twelve Hours of Sebring 1966
Sebring 1966 Courtesy Ing. Don Black
It should be noted that the bodywork of the TZ 2 was also the work of Ercole Spada of Carrozzeria Zagato. The development of the car was carried out by the engineer Giorgio Valentini, hired in 1964 by Orazio Satta at the SES, and seconded to Autodelta in the period of development of the TZ 2.
Alfa Romeo TZ 2
Only 9 examples of the TZ 2 were built, with chassis numbers 750104 (prototype), 750106, 750110, 750111, 750112, 750113, 750115, 750116 and 750117. Chassis 750101 was used for the Canguro concept car created by Bertone based on a design by Giorgetto Giugiaro, and chassis no. 750114, was used by Pininfarina for the Giulia Sport prototype, designed by Aldo Brovarone.
The development of the TZ definitively ended in 1965, when the new FIA regulation increased the limit for homologation in the GT category to 500 examples, and by 50 for the "Sport" category, effectively creating the impossibility for Alfa Romeo to continue participation in those categories with the TZ and TZ 2. The future program for the development of sports cars was oriented towards the new models, Giulia GTA in the Touring category, and the Tipo 33 with the two-litre engine, in the Prototype category.
TZ
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