The origins of the Alfa SV Zagato, and in turn all the other Zagato bodied Giuliettas up to the TZ-2, lie in an accident which occurred when Dore Leto di Priolo lost his Giulietta by a bridge during the Mille Miglia in 1956. The badly smashed car was retrieved from the river and taken to Elio Zagato, another member of the Scuderia Ambrosiana, with a request that he create a new and lighter body. Using only the platform chassis of the Giulietta, Zagato set to work and built the prototype of what was to become a small production run as other Italian racers demanded the same service. At 750Kg against the standard Giuliettas weight of 895 kg there was an inbuilt advantage.
There seems to be no record of how many SVZs were built between 1956 and 1959, with possibly between 25 and 30 as the best informed estimate. Each one was slightly different as each was built by hand to the customers' direct request. A whole generation of Italian race drivers experienced the track for the first time in an SVZ, giving the car a unique place in history.
The front end of the example pictured here, carrying the red colors of Scuderia Portello, was modified by Zagato for his customer Marco Bongisca of Milano in 1958/59. It was last registered in Germany and successfully campaigned in many historic races, including the Coppa Intereuropa, Monza, 1985 + 1986 Grand Prix Zaandvort, 1985 Alpen Trophy, 1985 Monthlery Park, 1986 Nurburgring Grand Prix and many more. It shows signs of a healthy life spent in competition and is ready to go on for plenty more.
{analysis} S/N 04069 was offered at the May 10, 1991 Sports Car Auction in Geneva, Switzerland, and was unsold at a high bid of $108,000.{/analysis}