1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2

Based on the success of the TZ1, a lightweight, space-frame race car, the TZ2 was lighter, lower and more powerful. Both cars were built by the team at Autodelta made up of owner Carlo Chiti, and design engineers Oarzio Satta and Guisseppe Busso. When the design work for the TZ2 took place Alfa Romeo had purchased Autodelta and given them responsibility for all of Alfa Romeo’s race development and team management. Since the TZ2 was to be a factory racer and would not have to meet homologation requirements, Autodelta was able to focus solely on performance and consider new concepts. Following Porsche’s lead as used in the 904 Carrera GTS, the body of the TZ2 is made of glass-reinforced plastic (GRP). This alone allowed the TZ2 to shed nearly 100 kg, but, in addition to the lighter weight, the TZ2 also had an all-new, fully-adjustable suspension. The body, designed by Ercole Spada of Zagato, sat a mere 41 inches high, and many have called the TZ2 a “mini Ferrari GTO.” Under the hood, is a delicious 1.6 liter inline four, prepared by Virgilio Conrero’s Autotecnica Conrero shop in Torino. The TZ2 dominated GT-class racing for 18 months, thoughts of putting one into production were toyed with but, never realized. This was the last front-engine racing Alfa before the Tipo 33 took over.