re: GTZ, GTV

["John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@domain.elided>]

In AD8-0105 Rich McCarty writes:

"Maybe I'm nearly totally ignorant, but the discussion about the meaning of
the various initials has me wondering what an Alfa GTZ looks like. If its some
newer model not imported into the states, then I can personally forgive my own
ignorance. I looked briefly thought my various Alfa books ( no index in
Alleggarita (sp!!)) and I can't find a reference to a GTZ. I'm aware of the
Guilietta Zagatos, the SZ, SVZ and the Guilia TZ1 & TZ2, and the GT/V/A/Am/A
Sa. Could GTZ simply be a reference to the TZ being made with 105 series
mechanicals? Was there a Bertone bodied Zagato coupe ( Whatever that could
mean ) ?"

Ignorant? Hell no; very few could approach that comprehensive a list, down to
the marvelous GTA-SA (but all uppercase in the only references I have to it.)

The only in-print (as opposed to digest-chat) reference I have seen to a GTZ
is in d'Amico & Tabucchi where they say that was the original designation of
the TZ, but I am skeptical about that; the other sources that logically might
mention it, don't.

But his final line, "Was there a Bertone bodied Zagato coupe ( Whatever that
could mean ) ?" needs elaboration. Both Bertone and Pininfarina did one-off
show-cars on the tubolare chassis, and Minerbi in his book on the TZs does
refer to it as a "Pininfarina TZ". He does not directly refer to the Canguro
as a "Bertone TZ", but it was a Giugiaro-designed Bertone body on the TZ
chassis. Fusi (p.600) captions the two cars as "La Giulia TZ1 realizzata da
Bertone e presentata sl Salone di Torino del 1964" and "Coupe Pininfarina su
autotelaio TZ1 presentato al salone di Torino 1965". D'Amico & Tabucchi say
that both cars were on TZ2 chassis, not TZ1s.

 D'Amico & Tabucchi score points with me by calling the two TZ types the TZ
and TZ2 rather than TZ1 and TZ2; TZ1 is a retrospective designation which was
not applied to the cars when built, so it is arguably descriptive but not a
proper model designation.

 In his sig line Rich adds "72 GTV   ( with meaningless V )", but I would
question the "meaningless" part. Veloce did become meaningless with the
Spiders, which had "Veloce" is one of three versions with identical
performance, but in the case of the case of the coupes there were GT Juniors
built during virtually the entire period that there were GT Veloces built -
1966-75 for the Juniors, 1966-76 for the Veloces. The Alfetta GTV did outlast
the Alfetta GT 1.6, but his '72 seems legitimate to me.

 John H.

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