Guide: Centenario Speciale - a Historical & Technical Appraisal of the Alfa Romeo TZ3 Corsa
BACKGROUND
During its first 100 years of car manufacturing, Alfa Romeo collaborated with nearly all the best Italian styling houses to include Bertone, Pininfarina, Touring, Ghia and Ital Design. In addition, the Milan firm frequently patronised local outfit, Zagato.
The first Zagato bodies to grace chassis from Alfa Romeo appeared in the 1920s soon after company founder Ugo Zagato had left Officine Aeronautica Pomilio to establish his own business. Unlike the often heavy, bulky bodies fitted to most cars of the era, Zagato elected to focus on lightweight sculptures. With his aeronautics background, Ugo Zagato also employed the latest construction techniques and aerodynamic understanding to create some of the most competitive racing cars of their day.
Following the conclusion of World War 2, Ugo Zagato (who had constructed trucks and military vehicles for the Italian government during the hostilities) returned to Milan and opened a new factory. Chief stylist Vieri Rapi was joined by Ugo’s sons, Elio and Gianni, and the company went from strength to strength continuing its quest for lightweight highly aerodynamic design and fabrication.
In addition to direct contracts with the likes of Fiat, Lancia and Maserati (plus individual commissions for the occasional Ferrari customer), Zagato continued its association with Alfa Romeo, building some of the most spectacular bodies offered on the 1900C SS platform. The stunning Giulietta-based SZ followed which became the most competitive car in the under 1300cc Gran Turismo class of motor sport.
With Ercole Spada now onboard as the company’s chief of design, Zagato subsequently clothed a pair of brand new GT racing specials for Alfa’s newly formed racing division: Autodelta. The resultant TZ and TZ2 were effectively baby versions of the Ferrari 250 GTO with each having been based around a trick chassis fitted with the most highly tuned running gear and then draped in custom air-piercing bodies that employed a number of avant garde features.
With the enormously successful TZ line having come to be regarded among the most beautiful automotive designs of the 20th century, it was no surprise that when Zagato was approached to create a one-off Speciale to celebrate Alfa Romeo’s 100th year as an auto manufacturer, it was this pair of models that served as the inspiration.
The commission came from German industrialist Martin Kapp who headed the multinational Kapp Niles machine tool operation headquartered in Coburg, Bavaria. As a renowned collector of Zagato-bodied Alfa Romeos, Kapp wanted a modern homage to the TZ and TZ2 which led to the TZ3 Corsa track car announced by Zagato in April 2010 and given its public debut at the Villa D’Este Concours d’Elegance later that month.
CHASSIS
Remarkably, the TZ3 Corsa was not actually built on Alfa Romeo componentry. Instead, the car was constructed around Gillet Vertigo 5 Spirit underpinnings of the type launched at the Brussels Motor Show back in January 2008.
The Vertigo 5 Spirit employed an advanced mono-cell carbonfibre-Nomex honeycomb tub that weighed in at just 58kg. Ancillary equipment such as the engine, transmission and suspension was supported by way of tubular front and rear subframes which at least gave the Tubolare element of the TZ nomenclature some credibility. At 2500mm, the TZ3 Corsa’s wheelbase was 160mm longer than a standard Vertigo 5 Spirit.
Suspension was via independent double wishbones with pushrod actuated coil springs and Ohlins dampers.
The unassisted brake system was imported from AP Racing. It employed vented discs of 330mm up front and 300mm at the rear with four-piston calipers fitted all round.
Instead of the 19-inch diameter ten-spoke wheels normally fitted to the Vertigo 5 Spirit, the TZ3 Corsa rode on 18-spoke 18-inch OZ Racing rims similarly of a centre-lock design. Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres were originally fitted.
ENGINE / TRANSMISSION
It was in the engine bay that the TZ3 Corsa bore most similarity to any contemporary Alfa Romeo as it utilised a variation of the same Tipo F136 Ferrari-built motor employed by the 8C Competizione.
Whereas the original Vertigo 5 had featured an Alfa Romeo V6 motor, Gillet moved on to the F136 unit from Maranello for the Spirit variant.
An all-alloy cross-plane, dry-sumped 90° V8 with dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, variable timing and variable intake valves, the F136 engine was originally developed for the Maserati Granturismo and Quattroporte. Although the 8C Competizione had used a 4.7-litre version, the Vertigo 5 Spirit and accordingly the TZ3 Corsa ran the smaller, more responsive 4.2-litre short stroke unit.
Displacement was 4244cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 92mm and 79.8mm respectively.
Whereas the 4.2 motor produced a maximum of 400bhp in OEM trim, the tuned version that resided in the Vertigo 5 Spirit and TZ3 Corsa pumped out 420bhp thanks to custom engine management software. Should the TZ3’s sometimes cited 480bhp have been accurate, a hike beyond the standard 11.0:1 compression ratio would likely have been required.
As per the Vertigo 5 Spirit, transmission was through a racing-style sequential six-speed gearbox and limited-slip differential that fed power to the rear wheels.
BODYWORK
Zagato clothed the TZ3 Corsa with a traditional hand-beaten body fashioned from ultra light aluminium. To further reduce weight, the side and rear windows were formed in Plexiglas.
From a styling perspective, the new car’s links to previous iterations of the Tubolare Zagato were clear.
At the front, headlights mounted underneath contoured covers gave a distinctly 1960s vibe. Lower down, a trio of sculpted intakes were carved out from the leading edge of the nose with the central duct adorned by Alfa’s trademark shield. Further up, two large vents cut from the single-piece hood enabled hot air to escape from the engine bay. Outboard of these, creased fenders disguised the car’s substantial girth.
Along the flanks, more engine cooling vents were discretely integrated along the lower section of the doors. Meanwhile, perhaps the TZ3’s most obvious link with its forebears was the tunnelled cockpit that adopted a very similar five window treatment to the original Tubolare Zagato from 1963.
All three iterations of the TZ shared a truncated Kamm tail which on the TZ3 Corsa featured a discrete rear screen along its upper portion plus a pair of triangulated exhaust outelts. As per the first generation TZ, the TZ3 Corsa’s tail fascia inlay was painted satin black.
To complement the Alfa Rosso paint scheme, Zagato added grey decals down the centre and on each door, an Autodelta four-leafed clover insignia and OMP graphics.
INTERIOR
Inside, form followed function in true competition car style.
Located along the boxy alcantara-trimmed dash was a digital instrument read out directly behind the three-spoke OMP steering wheel. The central console was adorned with myriad switchgear and ahead of the passenger seat was an exposed fuseboard.
Between the two carbonfibre OMP racing seats trimmed in fireproof fabric was the bulky transmission tunnel atop of which was a tall lever for the sequential gearbox. OMP racing harnesses were also fitted.
Exposed skins meant the cross bracing for the doors was on full display. Once across the wide sills (which got extremely hot owing to the exhaust location), driver and passenger also had to account for the plumbed-in rollcage.
WEIGHT / PERFORMANCE
Compared to a standard Vertigo 5 Spirit which tipped the scales at 990kg, the TZ3 Corsa came in 140kg lighter (850kg). For interest, Alfa Romeo’s 8C Competizione was 1585kg.
With such limited mass to lug around, performance figures were extremely impressive: 3.4 seconds from 0-62mph and a top speed of 186mph.
PRODUCTION
The TZ3 Corsa was commissioned as a one-off and no further copies were made.
Upon its debut at the 2010 Villa D’Este Concours d’Elegance it received the Design Award for the best concept car or prototype.
Six weeks later, the TZ3 Corsa made its dynamic debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
TZ3 Stradale
In addition to the one-off TZ3 Corsa, Zagato also built a batch of nine TZ3 Stradales. However, the two cars were quite different both cosmetically and under the skin with the Stradale based on Dodge Viper ACR underpinnings and receiving a more futuristic carbonfibre body.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Zagato - https://www.zagato.it/
