Alfa TZ 2 Prototype

"Only seen in public once in the past 35 years, a fascinating 1965 Alfa Romeo prototype was the focus of much attention at Brooks Europe's Nürnburgring sale in August. Built by Ludovico Chizolla (AutoDelta, Udine), this odd-looking compact was created as successor to the TZ1 but was turned down by the factory in preference to its in-house TZ2 design. Known as the TZ1¹/2, this gullwinged coupé is based on a one-off un-numbered tubular chassis which the late Ludovico Chizolla claimed was a modified Ferrari P2 frame. A distinctive feature is the wheels at extreme corners of the body, and a styling model features in the Alfa Romeo factory museum. The prototype features a TZ-type single-plug motor which is set low and well back in the chassis.

The car has covered just 580km which included a memorable mountain run which the prototyp completed in record time. Stored in the old Autodelta works since new, it came out only once, for the 1996 Autodelta reunion at Udine. It changed hands at Brooks for £47.000" (from "Classic and Sports Car" October 2000)