Lot 352: 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ Berlinetta
Coachwork by Zagato

Alfa Romeo's successful Giulietta range debuted in 1954 with the arrival of the Bertone-styled Sprint coupé, the Berlina saloon not appearing until the succeeding season. Veloce models with improved performance followed, and the agile Giulietta SV quickly established an enviable record in production car racing, notable victories including a Gran Turismo class win in the 1956 Mille Miglia. Nevertheless, to fully exploit the car's potential, lighter and more aerodynamic bodywork was deemed necessary, a requirement which resulted in the ultimate Giuliettas: Bertone's Sprint Special and the Sprint Zagato (SZ), both built on the short-wheelbase Spider platform and powered by the 116bhp version of Alfa's classic, 1.3-litre, twin-cam four.
Conceived as an out-and-out competition car, the Sprint Zagato coupé adopted lightweight aluminium-alloy coachwork and demonstrated its designer's commitment to weight saving in every detail, tipping the scales at an astonishing 785kg. With a top speed of around 125mph the SZ was easily the fastest of the Giuliettas, and even today there are few 1.3-litre cars capable of matching this level of performance. The SZ's inherent stability and instantaneous response to steering input made it a driver's car par excellence. On the racetrack it proved virtually unbeatable, and the Sprint Zagato remains a major force to be reckoned with in historic motor sport, being eligible for a wide variety of prestigious events.
One of the 'Coda Tonda' (round tail) first series SZs, chassis number '0171' was first owned by racing driver Fiorenzo Genta, of Turin, Italy and next (from December 1963) by Claudio Maglioli, brother of the famous racing driver and Targa Florio winner, Umberto Maglioli. The car remained in Italy, passing through the hands of a further seven owners (list available) before being exported to the UK in October 1999. While still in Italy the SZ had appeared on Zagato’s stand at the 1990 Turin Show. Owned by the vendor since 2005, the car is offered with recently expired MoT certificate (2004-2005).