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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale: The Stars and Stripes Zagato Grand Tourer
Words by Carlo Brema / Photos by Zagato
TZ3 is one of the acronyms that best identifies the successful collaboration that has linked Alfa Romeo and Zagato for decades. In 2011, after presenting the TZ3 Corsa one-off, it’s time for the TZ3 Stradale, a grand tourer with an unmistakable shape and stunning performance produced in just 9 units, the ultimate opportunity to celebrate 100 years of Alfa and the 90th Zagato anniversary.
The chosen base was that of the Dodge Viper ACR, as FIAT had acquired the Chrysler group. This situation therefore led to the use of a starting point that needs no introduction: 8.4-litre V8 with 600 horsepower delivered at 6,100 rpm. Strictly fitted with a manual 6-speed gearbox and traction on the rear axle only. The pure GT layout, combined however with a power reserve that ensured performance like 3.6 seconds for 0-100 kph and a top speed of 325 per hour. A mechanical gift that winks at driving lovers, making the TZ3 Stradale an incredibly engaging – albeit demanding – car to use in the real world. The references to the Viper are present mostly in the passenger compartment, where Zagato has introduced some of its own elements, without distorting the main canons which do not deceive an attentive eye.
However, it is the aesthetic side that makes the TZ3 Stradale a real unicorn, a mirage that when appears on the road manages to eclipse any supercar or hypercar around. Paying homage to models of the past, such as the 6C 2500 Panoramica, the 2600 SZ and the Giulietta SVZ, the TZ3 Stradale sports a very aggressive and streamlined front, with a small shield missing the classic chromed horizontal strips and a rear with a truncated tail, round headlights and a large blackened glass profile that opens to allow access to the luggage compartment. Seen in profile or rear three-quarters, the Stradale is able to emphasize an extremely refined and not at all obvious line, showing how these models made in such limited production enjoy the possibility of being daring in a way that is not possible for larger production ones.
The Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale is an exercise in style that runs very fast and which, thanks to its unmistakable silhouette, demonstrates how it is still possible to create cars capable of exciting, a quality and capacity that is increasingly distant from the contemporary panorama. There is no doubt that some may find it a bit out of proportion, but beauty here is precisely this, because exactly like a work of art it transmits emotions that cannot leave one indifferent. Estimated price at around €800,000.
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