The Alfa Romeo TZ1 (or Alfa Romeo Guilia TZ1) was the first car in the TZ series, produced by Alfa Romeo between 1963 and 1967. The design was developed to replace its predecessor, the SZ. This model, like the SZ, was purpose-built to be a sports racing car. It featured many parts from the Alfa Romeo Guilia, such as it’s 1570 cc Twin Cam engine, but it’s lightweight body, tubular spaceframe chassis, independent suspension and disk brakes make the TZ1 a true racing car. It weighs only 650 kg, and has a top speed of 134 mph (216 kmh). The designers focussed highly on the performance of the car; in particular on aerodynamics.
The design of the rear end of the car, was something rather revolutionary. The TZ1 had the ‘coda tronca’, meaning ‘short tail’. This was designed by Dr. Wunibald Kamm, a specialist in aerodynamics, and the design is sometimes referred to as the ‘Kamm tail’. What was different about the rear end of the vehicle was that it was cut at an angle, and Kamm had discovered that this did not increase the drag as much as originally believed.
It debuted in its first important race in 1963 at the FISA cup in Monza, Italy, where the TZs won the first four places in its category. Because the cars were built in such small quantities, they are now very collectible, and sell for hundreds of thousands of American dollars.
