by Noah Joseph on Apr 28th, 2011 at 6:51AM Official: Zagato unveils new TZ3 Stradale with the heart of a Viper and the soul of an Alfa
Less than a month after the news broke that Zagato was working on a new TZ3 Stradale, the Milanesecarrozzeria has unveiled the first photos and details of its latest creation.
The sumptuous TZ3 Stradale is part of a continuous celebration by Zagato of Alfa Romeo's centenary. So it's based on an Alfa, then? Well, not quite. Its underpinnings are actually much more serpentine than even the snake on the Alfa badge, borrowed as they are from the all-conquering Dodge Viper ACR, over which is draped a bespoke carbon fiber body. You can discern some key Zagato design elements from its similarity to the Perana Z-One (that's no bad thing) and the classic Kamm tail. But while this coachbuilt Viper doesn't borrow any mechanical bits from the marque to which it pays tribute, its design puts a decidedly contemporary spin on decades of collaboration between Zagato and Alfa Romeo.
The fourth model in the TZ line, the Stradale follows the original TZ and TZ2, and the more recent TZ3 Corsawhich was unveiled last year at Villa d'Este – the same location where, as we recently reported, an original TZ is set to cross the auction block. But while the Alfa-powered TZ3 Corsa was a strict one-off track car, the TZ3 Stradale (as previewed in Zagato's Christmas card) will be built in an edition of nine examples.
The first is going to noted American collector Eric King, the second and third examples already earmarked for customers in Japan and Europe. Ask really nicely and maybe one of the remaining six can be yours. Otherwise, you'll have to settle for perusing our high-resolution image gallery below and scoping out the official press release after the jump.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Zagato TZ3 Stradale
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Alfisto Steve Rambles On
I know it really rained on our wine tour parade this year but, I hope all who were in attendance enjoyed our 16th wine tour as much as I did. My hat's off to all who made it such a smashing success. Many thanks again for all the hard work and time that Dave and Debbie and Betsy and Robin and oh you too Skip have put into these annual tours.
The English Inn staff always comes through for us to enjoy our stay there. Tom Packett and all the folks at IAP made our annual pilgrimage to their parts Mecca another highlight of the weekend, too.
Raining as it did made our first stop at the Glass House Winery really neat as we got to taste wine and enjoy our lunch inside their tropical plant green house. Really nice venue. Driving through the rain to DuCard winery was a nice relaxing drive for me with Skip as navigator. Towards the end of drive when we had to ford the stream running across the road had me a little worried for the return to hotel trip but the rain quit just a we were leaving and the rushing waters across the roads in several places were minor in nature.
I hope Sunday's drive and winery visit was a nice event, too. I opted to make a speed run down I-81 to Christainsburg/Blacksburg area to visit Jim and Anita Wehler and Don and Ev Melia. I went to also service Jim's A/C system on his 164. All of us had a nice visit and cook out at Jim's place.
Monday I drove home and stopped at Natural Bridge for a sightsee I had never done before. Pretty impressive Natural Wonder of the world. Even more wonderful was Route 130 from Natural Bridge across the Blue Ridge to US-29. This is one Alfa Road with twisties to drive for and a view down into the valley along the James River that is spectacular.
I post some pictures here: http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/164-168-1991-1995/179278-alfa-wine-tour-road-trip.html
Friday, April 01, 2011
Car events 4-2 and 4-9
We will meet at Cars & Coffee at La Promenade Shopping Center, 8 a.m. 4/2
Relay for Life Fiat 500 raffle tickets for sale
Here is the link to photos of the Cars & Coffee. Next event: 4/2 @ 8 a.m.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=115284668486129&v=photos
Here is the link to photos of the Sports & Classic Car Gatherings. Next event: 4/9 @ 3 p.m at Handel's Ice Cream
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27171&id=100001844577246&l=9af9ca4b76
