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Alfa’s V10-powered stunner

PERFECTION: Zagato styling. Alfa Romeo heritage. American V10 power (what?). Need we say more, really?
PERFECTION: Zagato styling. Alfa Romeo heritage. American V10 power (what?). Need we say more, really?
Italian coachbuilder Zagato has crafted some of the most beautiful cars of all time - many of them sporting Alfa-Romeo’s famous serpent-and-cross badge.

As part of the celebrations surrounding Alfa Romeo’s centenary, Zagato’s released images and details of its TZ3 Stadale, the latest in an illustrious line of TZ-series cars harking back to Alfa’s halcyon racing days of the 1960s.

Good news is that this new Stradale (the fourth generation of TZ) will be built in limited numbers, unlike the one-off TZ3 Corsa unveiled Italy’s Villa d'Este in 2010. In fact, the Stradale is a decidedly different car to the TZ3 Corsa, which featured mostly Alfa Romeo sourced mechanical bits.

ALFA SOUL, AMERICAN HEART

Styling is typically gorgeous with daring proportions and impeccably finished surfacing. If you are looking to trace classic Zagato design details, then note that the Kamm tail has been retained whilst a wraparound glasshouse adds superb flow to the overall aesthetic.

Although the TZ Stradale’s composite surfacing encapsulates all that is good about Italian design the car’s underpinningS are peculiarly American.

Dodge’s Viper ACR provides the platform and running gear for this most striking of Alfa Romeo’s products and before purists baulk at that notion it's worth remembering that Fiat now owns Chrysler (and by implication the Viper nameplate), which makes Alfa Romeo and Dodge sibling brands.

ONLY NINE OFF THE LNE

Powering Zagato’s TZ Stradale is Dodge’s legendary 8.4-litre, naturally aspirated V10 that is primed for 450kW at 6100rpm (supported by 760Nm of torque at 5000rpm) and driving the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission.

Performance should fall easily into the statistical class usually reserved for supercars though the TZ Stradale is meant to be an elegantly swift grand tourer instead of a racing car for the road.

Zagato will only build nine TZ Stradales, of which the first three serial numbers already have signatures next to them. So, if you want one of the remaining six, contact Zagato’s office just outside Milan and be prepared to transfer a rather hefty deposit.

Is this TZ Stradale the world’s most beautiful performance car? Well, it makes most Aston Martins seem a trifle average – which says a lot.
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