A superb and rare photo of the magnificent number 40 Alfa Romeo Sprint Zagato , or Alfa Romeo SZ , as seen in action during the 1962 edition of the grueling heavy 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Alfa Romeo SZ was based on the 1950s Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

During the race this gorgeous car was ridden by Karl Foitek and Riccardo Ricci. The car was entered for the race by the Italian racing team Scuderia St. Ambroeus. Unfortunately they were forced to retire during the race, in lap 225 the clutch of the car broke down. Their Alfa Romeo SZ was powered by a Alfa Romeo straight or inline 4-cylinder engine which had a capacity of only 1.3 litre.

According the spec. sheet that came with the negative, the photo was taken in the evening of June 23, 1962.

The 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 30th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 23 and 24 1962. It was also the eighth round of the World Sportscar Championship. The race was won by Olivier Gendebien and Phil Hill. They rode a Ferrari 330 TRI/LM Spyder , powered by a Ferrari 4,000cc (4 liter) V 12 cylinder engine and inscribed by SpA Ferrari SEFAC. They drove a total of 331 laps in the 24 Hours of racing.

In 1960 Alfa Romeo collaborated with Zagato to build a production car incorporating the best features of the SVZ, and the Alfa Romeo Sprint Zagato , or Alfa Romeo SZ , was the result. It was based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. The 1954 Alfa Romeo Giulietta was an important vehicle for the Company, because it was the first offering since World War II that truly resembled the racing inspired vehicles Alfa was capable of producing.  The vehicles were mass produced, a first for the company. The Giulietta came in various body-styles including the Alfa Romeo Giuliette Sprint Veloce. The vehicles were built with the engine in the front and powered the rear wheels. Most used a four-speed manual gearbox with front and rear drum brakes. The steering was worm-and-roller with the front suspension comprised of wishbones with telescopic dampers and coil springs with anti-roll bar while the rear was a rigid live axle with telescopic dampers and coil springs. The Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce was designed by Franco Scaglione and produced by Bertone for Alfa Romeo. The 'Veloce' (fast) cars competed successfully for many years until supplanted by purpose-built race cars built by Zagato. When Carlo Leto di Priolo crashed his Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce on the 1956 Mille Miglia, he had the car rebodied by Zagato, with aerodynamic aluminum coachwork. The rebuilt car was raced with such success that 18 further examples of the Sprint Veloce Zagato were built. The SVZ is perhaps the ultimate Alfa Romeo Giulietta. The SVZs had the highly tuned 750 series, 4-cylinder overhead camshaft 1300cc engines, giving 116 bhp. This car raced at the 1960 Targa Florio  driven by its owner, Baldassare 'Saica' Taormina, finishing in 14th place. In 1960 Alfa Romeo collaborated with Zagato to build a production car incorporating the best features of the SVZ, and the Alfa Romeo Sprint Zagato, or Alfa Romeo SZ, was the result.

Zagato (SZ DESIGN s.r.l.) is a design consultancy and engineering services company situated just outside Milan, Italy. The company's premises occupy an area of 23,000 square metres (250,000 sq ft), of which 11,000 square metres (120,000 sq ft) are covered. The company was established at the end of the World War I by Ugo Zagato, putting aircraft industry construction techniques to use in the expanding market for passenger vehicles. Zagato's cars were advanced in design and became synonymous with light weight and excellent aerodynamics. Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Lancia immediately realised the advantages of his rakish, streamlined designs. A collaboration followed which saw the creation of a series of legendary racing cars, such as the Alfa Romeo 1500, then the 1750 Gran Sport, and the 2300 8C. After World War II, Zagato was very much active in the new GT racing category. Avant-garde styling, together with light weight and wind-cheating lines were main features of Zagato's models for the leading sports car manufacturers of that era - Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia, Abarth, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. In addition to cars that have been produced officially in small series, the company has also built exclusive one-offs and prototypes for other illustrious marques, such as Ford, Jaguar, MG, Rover, Volvo, Bristol, and Rolls-Royce.

Ugo Zagato's two sons, Elio Zagato (1919–2009) and Gianni Zagato (born 1929), became involved with the company in the late 1940s. Ugo died in 1968. Zagato is currently headed by Andrea Zagato. Many Zagato vehicles have the signature double-bubble roof that allowed additional clearance for racing helmets. Other trademark design features include no bodywork ahead of the headlights, flat door handles and the absence of bumpers and outside rearview mirrors. Zagato also designs non-automobile projects such as an automated guided electric commuter train for a city in Abu Dhabi.

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This is a very nice and very rare non period photo that reflects a wonderful era of Alfa Romeo 's automotive history in a wonderful way.  This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12" (ca. 20 x 30 cm).  It makes it perfectly suitable for framing.

Contact us for more Alfa Romeo , Zagato and other automotive photos.