Whereas the TZ3 Corsa, commissioned by Martin Kapp, was designed with a carbonfibre chassis, coupled with a tubular frame and handbeaten lightweight aluminium body, the TZ3 Stradale boasts a carbonfibre body and mechanical components from the Viper ACR. This is the first time that U.S. power has been matched with a TZ body; hence Zagato’s claim that this is the ‘first American Alfa Romeo’.
And not just any GT40. This car, one of the leading entries to RM’s star-studded inaugural Villa d’Este sale on May 21, is an ultra-rare roadster, a veteran of the 1965 Le Mans trials, the first such car to race with the ZF 5-speed gearbox, and a Linden Green works entry (Bondurant/Whitmore) at the Targa Florio that year, carrying race number ‘194’.
In other words, in the exact specification you see here.
Not so in the case of Jim Glickenhaus and the achingly desirable Ferrari P4/5 - the car has now covered over 4,000 miles, and a recent trip to Europe saw it pounding round dusty Sicilian roads on the Giro Di Sicilia - Targa Florio, and then moving on to what would normally be the manicured grounds of Goodwood House, but a venue that in June 2007 was turned into marshland by unseasonal monsoons.
The car is a one-off commissioned by James Glickenhaus, the American collector with a passion for the legendary racing cars of the Sixties.
Starting from a Ferrari Enzo (Mr Glickenhaus already has another...) the car was designed, engineered and built entirely by Pininfarina in Italy. The aim was to produce a unique vehicle inspired by sport racing cars with extreme purposes: not just a show-car but a vehicle to be enjoyed on the road.
So, thanks to Nick Mason I set off in this glorious prize of a machine, taking a tootle around the roads of Gloucestershire and getting to know the Enzo, stopping for lunch at a splendid pub and having a delicious pint of harmless ginger beer (officer!) with my bangers, bubble and squeak. Just a normal day out on the road, you know.