CarRocker
Jan 29, 2007, 6:19 PM
http://www.ritzsite.net/Alfa_SZ-RZ/1991_Alfa_Romeo_SZ_HQ.JPG
One of the most outrageous cars ever produced by Alfa Romeo is the SZ. This car came at a time when two renowned Italian companies needed a new boost. Alfa Romeo, which had created an image of building rusting cars, was searching for a new link with their great long history full of awesome sports cars. Then there was Zagato, the design studio from Milan, which had turned in designing prototypes instead of designing and building exotic cars.
Their collaboration in the late 80’s lead to the remarkable Alfa Romeo SZ berlinetta and the RZ roadster.
This car wasn’t fashionable nor conservative. You either love or hate its styling. Because of the looks and its performance it was called ‘Il Monstre’; The Monster. This car is more than an object, and I thought it was definitely worth of it’s own topic here on SportsCarForums. I personally love this car.
This car wasn’t the first time Alfa and Zagato made a car together. Their collaborations date back to the 1920’s. Ugo Zagato supplied the bodywork for Alfa’s racing cars like the 6C 1750 Gran Sport. One of the most illustrious models they produced together was the Giulietta Sprint Zagato. It won lost of races on the road and on the track.
But nothing was as extra ordinary as the car that was first shown in 1989 on the Geneva Motor Show as the “Experimental Sportscar-3.0 litre”, or short: ES-30. It was unveiled as a prototype by Zagato, but in fact not less then 3 design teams helped designing this car. Apart from Zagato, Alfa Romeo’s own Centre Stile(Walter da Silva and Alberto Bertelli) and Fiat’s design centre headed by Robert Opron(Citroën CX) helped with the design of the car. In the end Robert Opron made the initial drafts and Antonio Castellana was largely responsible for both the exterior and the interior of the car.
http://home.wxs.nl/~evdbeek/szopron2.jpg
In the end, Zagato only made small contributions to the design of the front and rear, because both designers were from Fiats design center, but still the Zagato logo would grace on the sides of the car. The general opinions on the car convinced Alfa Romeo to start up a limited production of the ES-30, now renamed SZ as a reminder to Alfa’s inspiring past.
The first SZ’s left the factory the same year, and at the end of 1991 1036 cars were produced. 38 of the 1036 are prototype and production cars, some of them are now in the hands of collectors or museums.
With the exception of Andrea Zagato’s SZ they were all painted in Rosso Alfa with a dark grey roof. Andrea’s car was all black, including dark tinted mirror glass.
http://home.wxs.nl/~evdbeek/szazag.jpg
The mechanical components were produced by Alfa Romeo and enhanced by Alfa Corse. The glass fibre composite plastic body parts were made by Carplast and Stratime, and Zagato assembled the cars.
The mechanical parts were based on the Alfa Romeo 75 America. The 3.0 litre V6 light alloy engine was tuned by Alfa’s motor sport department Alfa Corse.
The engine's compression ratio was enlarged to 10:1, the double overhead camshafts received a sharper cam profile and the Bosch Motronic engine management system was reprogrammed. This way the maximum power output was raised with at least 20 hp to 210 hp @ 6200 rpm and maximum torque was stated as 245 Nm @ 4500 rpm. A great aspect is the availability of the at least 230 Nm between 2500 and 6000 rpm, making it easy to switch between touring and competitive driving.
All this was sufficient to render the front engine, rear wheel drive SZ a very lively character. Its top speed is at least 245 kph and it can accelerate from 0 to 100 kph in 7 seconds. In contrast to its lightweight construction style it is actually heavier (by 10 kg) than the full steel Alfa 75 saloon car: the SZ puts a stately 1,260 kg on the scales. Its dimensions are a width of 1.730 m, a length of 4.060 m and a height of 1.300 m.
The suspension was adapted from the Alfa 75 IMSA competition cars, complete with uniball joints. It was also fitted with an adjustable hydraulic damper system by Koni. Turning a knob on the dashboard, and the system varies the ground clearance with 50 mm.
The stiff suspension is one of the reasons it can pull 1G in the corners.
In 1992 the roadster version of the SZ was introduced, the RZ(Roadster Zagato). Only 350 cars would be made, but the counter stopped after 278 roadsters left the factory.
Next to no changes were made underneath the body. The engine was the same. Only the weight increased to 1380 kg, making it less nimble then the SZ, and the top speed dropped to 230kph and the 0-100 acceleration increased to 7.5 seconds.
Unlike the SZ, the RZ was available in red, yellow and black. Next to that, three RZ were painted silver, and one in metallic white.
The RZ is even more extreme then the SZ, and certainly more rare.
http://home.wxs.nl/~evdbeek/rz4col01.jpg
After the SZ/RZ adventure Alfa Romeo abandoned the sports car niche market, and went for volume production, until now with the 8C.
"The Monster", like it was nicknamed by the press because of its extreme looks and amazing driving potential, is an unique car. It did just the trick: surprising people, getting attention and boosting Alfa Romeo's image. Most of the produced cars are still around and it's not hard to find one in Western Europe. Outside Europe on the other hand the SZ is extremely rare. Only in Japan there are more than a handful.
One of the most outrageous cars ever produced by Alfa Romeo is the SZ. This car came at a time when two renowned Italian companies needed a new boost. Alfa Romeo, which had created an image of building rusting cars, was searching for a new link with their great long history full of awesome sports cars. Then there was Zagato, the design studio from Milan, which had turned in designing prototypes instead of designing and building exotic cars.
Their collaboration in the late 80’s lead to the remarkable Alfa Romeo SZ berlinetta and the RZ roadster.
This car wasn’t fashionable nor conservative. You either love or hate its styling. Because of the looks and its performance it was called ‘Il Monstre’; The Monster. This car is more than an object, and I thought it was definitely worth of it’s own topic here on SportsCarForums. I personally love this car.
This car wasn’t the first time Alfa and Zagato made a car together. Their collaborations date back to the 1920’s. Ugo Zagato supplied the bodywork for Alfa’s racing cars like the 6C 1750 Gran Sport. One of the most illustrious models they produced together was the Giulietta Sprint Zagato. It won lost of races on the road and on the track.
But nothing was as extra ordinary as the car that was first shown in 1989 on the Geneva Motor Show as the “Experimental Sportscar-3.0 litre”, or short: ES-30. It was unveiled as a prototype by Zagato, but in fact not less then 3 design teams helped designing this car. Apart from Zagato, Alfa Romeo’s own Centre Stile(Walter da Silva and Alberto Bertelli) and Fiat’s design centre headed by Robert Opron(Citroën CX) helped with the design of the car. In the end Robert Opron made the initial drafts and Antonio Castellana was largely responsible for both the exterior and the interior of the car.
http://home.wxs.nl/~evdbeek/szopron2.jpg
In the end, Zagato only made small contributions to the design of the front and rear, because both designers were from Fiats design center, but still the Zagato logo would grace on the sides of the car. The general opinions on the car convinced Alfa Romeo to start up a limited production of the ES-30, now renamed SZ as a reminder to Alfa’s inspiring past.
The first SZ’s left the factory the same year, and at the end of 1991 1036 cars were produced. 38 of the 1036 are prototype and production cars, some of them are now in the hands of collectors or museums.
With the exception of Andrea Zagato’s SZ they were all painted in Rosso Alfa with a dark grey roof. Andrea’s car was all black, including dark tinted mirror glass.
http://home.wxs.nl/~evdbeek/szazag.jpg
The mechanical components were produced by Alfa Romeo and enhanced by Alfa Corse. The glass fibre composite plastic body parts were made by Carplast and Stratime, and Zagato assembled the cars.
The mechanical parts were based on the Alfa Romeo 75 America. The 3.0 litre V6 light alloy engine was tuned by Alfa’s motor sport department Alfa Corse.
The engine's compression ratio was enlarged to 10:1, the double overhead camshafts received a sharper cam profile and the Bosch Motronic engine management system was reprogrammed. This way the maximum power output was raised with at least 20 hp to 210 hp @ 6200 rpm and maximum torque was stated as 245 Nm @ 4500 rpm. A great aspect is the availability of the at least 230 Nm between 2500 and 6000 rpm, making it easy to switch between touring and competitive driving.
All this was sufficient to render the front engine, rear wheel drive SZ a very lively character. Its top speed is at least 245 kph and it can accelerate from 0 to 100 kph in 7 seconds. In contrast to its lightweight construction style it is actually heavier (by 10 kg) than the full steel Alfa 75 saloon car: the SZ puts a stately 1,260 kg on the scales. Its dimensions are a width of 1.730 m, a length of 4.060 m and a height of 1.300 m.
The suspension was adapted from the Alfa 75 IMSA competition cars, complete with uniball joints. It was also fitted with an adjustable hydraulic damper system by Koni. Turning a knob on the dashboard, and the system varies the ground clearance with 50 mm.
The stiff suspension is one of the reasons it can pull 1G in the corners.
In 1992 the roadster version of the SZ was introduced, the RZ(Roadster Zagato). Only 350 cars would be made, but the counter stopped after 278 roadsters left the factory.
Next to no changes were made underneath the body. The engine was the same. Only the weight increased to 1380 kg, making it less nimble then the SZ, and the top speed dropped to 230kph and the 0-100 acceleration increased to 7.5 seconds.
Unlike the SZ, the RZ was available in red, yellow and black. Next to that, three RZ were painted silver, and one in metallic white.
The RZ is even more extreme then the SZ, and certainly more rare.
http://home.wxs.nl/~evdbeek/rz4col01.jpg
After the SZ/RZ adventure Alfa Romeo abandoned the sports car niche market, and went for volume production, until now with the 8C.
"The Monster", like it was nicknamed by the press because of its extreme looks and amazing driving potential, is an unique car. It did just the trick: surprising people, getting attention and boosting Alfa Romeo's image. Most of the produced cars are still around and it's not hard to find one in Western Europe. Outside Europe on the other hand the SZ is extremely rare. Only in Japan there are more than a handful.