Alfa Romeo SZ

The Alfa Romeo SZ (for Sprint Zagato) and codenamed ES-30 for Experimental Sportscar 3.0 litre, is a high-performance limited-production sports car built from 1989 to 1991 by a partnership between Centro Stile Zagato, Centro Stile Alfa Romeo and Centro Stile Fiat. It was unveiled as the ES-30 at the 1989 Geneva Motor Show<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as a prototype by Zagato with the styling house assigned the responsibility of assembling the car.<ref name="ritzsite.net">Template:Cite web</ref>

Overview

The SZ was an attempt to revive Alfa Romeo's sporting heritage after its acquisition by Fiat in 1986, and was meant to recall the Giulietta Sprint Zagato from the late 1950s and early 1960s. A common misconception about the SZ is that the car was designed by Zagato, but was actually designed in-house. Robert Opron of the Centro Stile Fiat was responsible for the initial sketches while Antonio Castellana was largely responsible for the final styling details and interior. Only Zagato's 'Z' logo of was kept on the design, with Zagato's signature double bubble roof being absent. An unusual design detail is its six headlights positioned in a trio on each side - a feature used also on later Alfa Romeo models in the 2000s. The unusual design of the car can be attributed to the use of early CAD/CAM, or computer-aided design and manufacturing by Alfa Romeo.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The car's powertrain and chassis came from the Alfa Romeo 75, with assembly being carried out by Zagato at Terrazzano di Rho near the Alfa Romeo factory in Arese. The thermoplastic injection-moulded composite body panels were produced by Italian company Carplast and French company Stratime Cappelo Systems.

The suspension was from the Alfa Romeo 75 group A/IMSA car,<ref name="ritzsite.net"/> modified by Giorgio Pianta, engineer and team manager of the Lancia and Fiat rally works team. The hydraulic damper system was by Koni. The SZ was originally equipped with Pirelli P Zero tyres (front 205/55 ZR 16, rear 225/50 ZR 16). The car came without any driver's aids to provide a challenging experience to the drivers.<ref name="cdriver">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="home.wxs.nl/~evdbeek">Template:Cite web</ref>

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  Rear view of the SZ
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  Side profile of the SZ
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  The Zagato badging on the SZ

RZ

A convertible version of the SZ called the RZ (badged "R.Z." for Roadster Zagato) was produced from 1992 until December 1994. Although almost identical in appearance, the two cars shared no body panels save for the front wings and boot. The RZ had a revised bumper and door sills to give better ground clearance and the bonnet no longer featured the aggressive ridges. Three standard colours were available; black, yellow and red, with black and yellow being more popular choices. Yellow and red cars got a black leather interior and black cars burgundy. Although the interior layout was almost unchanged from the SZ, the RZ had a painted central console that swept up between the seats to conceal the convertible roof storage area. 350 units were planned, but production was halted after 252 units when the Zagato factory producing the cars for Alfa Romeo went into receivership. A further 32 cars were completed under the control of the receivers before production finished at 284 units. Of those, three RZs were painted silver with burgundy interior and the final RZ was painted pearlescent white.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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  Alfa Romeo RZ
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  Rear view of the RZ
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  Side profile of the RZ

Performance

	SZ	RZ
Top speed	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt
0–Template:Cvt	7.0 seconds	7.5 seconds
0–1000 m	27.4 seconds	30.1 seconds
Power to weight ratio	6 kg/PS	6.6 kg/PS

Characteristics

• Powerplant: Template:Cvt naturally aspirated V6. SOHC, 2 valves per cylinder, Bosch Motronic ML 4.1 fuel injection. Rated at Template:Cvt at 6,200 rpm and Template:Cvt of torque at 4,500 rpm. Engine code: AR 61501<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• SZ : Only one official colour scheme was available: red with grey roof, tan leather interior
• One SZ with a black exterior colour was made for Andrea Zagato
• RZ : Only three official colour schemes were available: red with black leather, yellow with black leather, and black with red leather
• At the end of production, three RZs were made in silver, and one in pearlescent white
• 1,036 SZs were produced, exceeding planned production of 1,000 units. About 100 were exported to Japan.<ref name="ritzsite.net"/>
• 278 RZs were produced of a planned production of 350 units.<ref name="home.wxs.nl/~evdbeek"/>

Motorsport

SZ Trofeo

The SZ Trofeo is a modified version of the SZ built for a single-model race series run on circuits throughout Europe, but primarily in Italy at venues such as Imola, Misano, and Mugello. Only 13 cars were built, with most finished in red, and at least one was black. Wheels are 16 inch OZ three-piece items fitted with Pirelli tires, of which each team received three sets. The interior is largely stripped, but retains the dash and door panels, consistent with era regulations. The engine is largely identical to those used in road-going versions of the SZ and RZ, but with balanced internals and different tuning.

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External links

• A lot of information about the Alfa Romeo SZ and RZ by E v.d. Beek.