Yes, this is the Alfa Romeo Zagato TZ3 Corsa revealed last year at the Concours d’Elegance Villa D’Este. But now it’s heading into limited production as Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale.
The gorgeous concept car is Zagato’s tribute to Alfa’s 100 years of motorsport heritage. The Corsa is indeed a racing car, but the Stradale will be a road-going version of it, reportedly based on underpinnings of Dodge Viper. Quite a recipe, then.
It is not clear for now how like the Corsa the Stradale will look, but one thing’s for sure, it will retain the concept car’s shooting brake design. In fact some say the warm welcome that Ferrari FF Shooting Brake received – as its first year of production is already sold out – convinced Alfa officials to make the Stradale. (According to Zagato officials the Stradale is not a Shooting Brake, but just a coupe and that it’s conceived from ZAGATO Atelier IN COLLABORATION with ALFA ROMEO.)
The Corsa used a V8 engine out of Alfa 8C Competizione, but the Stradale is more likely to get Viper’s 600+ PS V10 engine. That said, the Alfa will probably be a bit more sophisticated than the Viper, which to all intents and purposes was a vicious animal.
With the current shooting brake trend going on, we’re kinda worried they even make the next Viper an SB!
UPDATE: We’ve been contacted by Zagato and they’ve sent us some officials details on the 2010 ALFA ROMEO TZ3 STRADALE. We are more than happy to make amendments and provide you with accurate info from Zagato Atelier on this magnificent vehicle:
1) “Project TZ” was issued by Andrea Zagato and his staff in 2010 to honour Alfa’s 100 years of production and the long tradition of race Alfas with Zagato body.
2) The first step of this project is the 2010 ALFA ROMEO TZ3 CORSA which was officially introduced to the public at 2010 Villa d’Este Concours (where it was prized with the Concept Design Award).
3) The TZ3 Corsa isn’t a concept. It’s a one-off that was commisioned by a Zagato enthusiast who owns an Alfa Romeo TZ and a TZ2. It’s not road legal. It will remain a one-off. No more units in the future
4) The TZ3 Corsa isn’t a shooting brake. It’s a coupé. The shooting brake approach means a Station Wagon with two doors (Ferrari FF, Bentley CCG with touring coachbuild).
5) The TZ3 CORSA isn’t based on the Alfa 8C. The TZ3 corsa is based on a monoshell carbon fiber chassis which is coupled with a steel tubes roll cage. The body is formed by handbeaten alloy panels. The engine is the 4.2 Maserati V8. None of these elements is shared with the Alfa 8C.
6)The SECOND step of Zagato’s TZ Project is the 2010 ALFA ROMEO TZ3 STRADALE
7) The Alfa TZ3 STRADALE isn’t related to the TZ3 CORSA in terms of “ROAD LEGAL version”. ZAGATO ATELIER never conceived the project in such a way. Despite a resemblance, they are totally different in terms of mechanical layout. For this reason this doesn’t mean that the TZ3 STRADALE is 600 kilos heavier than the TZ3 CORSA because there isn’t any relationship among them apart from being ZAGATO bodied cars and sharing the TZ design and name.
8 ) The ALFA ROMEO TZ3 STRADALE is based on the DODGE VIPER (rolling chassis, engine, gearbox, suspensions and so on and it’s totally road-legal. It was commissioned by an American enthusiast and it’s not headed for production.
9) The ALFA ROMEO TZ3 STRADALE is bodied with a carbonfiber body and has the same dimensions and weight of its donor-car
10) ALFA ROMEO TZ3 Stradale is conceived from ZAGATO Atelier IN COLLABORATION with ALFA ROMEO.
