By Pete Vack

"It looks like a giant praying mantis about to leap." Kyle Fleming’s assessment of the Alfa 2600 Zagato, was, if not overly kind, at least somewhat accurate. Zagato was never known to be anything but bold about it’s designs, and the Zagato was big, bold and eye catching. Fleming, used to dealing in Maseratis and Ferraris, couldn't quite put the Alfa Zagato into focus. Such was the attraction of Zagato. The Big Z was different, rare and unusual at a time and place when the U.S. was a veritable candy store, full of rare and unusual cars at bargain basement prices.

Those Were the Days, My Friend
Up to 1967, the U.S. was a huge repository of interesting imported cars from all parts of the globe, unhindered by any kind of government safety, emissions restrictions, for back then, there was no DOT or EPA. By the seventies, these potential classics were just used cars with no real value. Newspapers, local trading posts, car magazines and used car lots listed a bewildering array of truly interesting foreign cars, a veritable candy store for the enthusiast. This of course included Ferraris and Maseratis, the likes of which our astute Mr. Fleming was salting away in a wide variety of unlikely places.

In a very short period of time, a plethora of Alfas, Lancias, Abarths, and Fiats traversed our driveway. By the time we found the Big Z in 1972, we had already had the pleasure of owning an Alfa Sprint Veloce 1300, an absolutely mint Giulia Super and a very rare Alfa Sprint Bertone convertible. All were found on used car lots and each cost less than $1000. All were daily drivers. All were driven half way across the U.S. and back again at speeds far above the posted 70 mph speed limit.

The Big Z was considered a catch, even in those heady days of easy collectable classics. It was readily apparent that a special bodied Alfa was about the most ideal form of transportation one could imagine. First, almost all special bodied Alfas used standard Alfa parts, including the engine, transmission and drive train. Second, most were aluminum, therefore rust was not a major problem. Lastly, even then, anyone with half a mind could realize that these cars would increase in value. There was the problem of seating space, yes, but big station wagons which solved the family situation were a dime a dozen.

The Lure of the Alfa Zagatos
Of all the special bodied Alfas, the Zagatos were the most interesting, and, most common, at least 35 years ago. There were a number to choose from, but even then, the more desirable of the Zagatos were fetching premium dollars, some as much as $5000! Still, one might buy a 1900 Zagato, with its strange bullnose, a 1300 Sprint Zagato, as short and round as a well used soap bar, and the later long tail version, which was much more aesthetically pleasing. There were, on the market, a number of Tubulare Zagatos, the earlier TZ1 being more readily available than the fiberglass TZ2, both being the ultimate in post war Alfa Zagatos. An unusual aside was the 1750 Replica, also by Zagato, one of the first, if not the first, retro cars ever created by an auto manufacturer.

The 2600 Zagato
And then there was the 2600 Zagato. About 105 had been built, from late 1964 to 1966, perhaps half found their way into the US. It was a breed apart, being set on the large, cumbersome but powerful 2600 chassis, and the body, instead of hammered from aluminum, was steel, for it was a true GT car rather than a racing car. Introduced at the Frankfurt Show in 1965, it was one of the latest confections attributed to Zagato’s Ercole Spada, and a soul mate of the even more outrageous Lancia Flavia Zagato See "The Pink and Silver Zagato"

Always on the lookout for something special, and true to the wondrous shopping opportunities of those halcyon days, we found one for sales within 20 miles of our home, via the local Trading Post. But the price was high, at $1800 almost twice as much as we had been accustomed to paying for our cars. We borrowed the necessary half, and the car was ours. There were not exactly a lot of bidders.

Owning the Big Z
After recovering from the initial shock, for we too, thought it looked like a praying mantis, we found pleasure in small things, such as the glove box, which was exactly like a normal glove box but only 2 inches in depth, making the description of glove box perfectly correct, for it could hold nothing else. The huge black steering wheel dominated the tiny interior, the Zagato leatherette upholstery as thin as the silver body paint, the sudden lack of any type of rocker panels beneath the doors, which was a relief, as there would never be any rocker rust. But everything was there, operational, and the car was totally original.

Head gasket, did we hear head gasket? Of course, and it failed, as did all Alfa head gaskets, but the 6 cylinder Alfa head was a bit heavier than the four and this time it was my wife’s fingers that were smashed when we replaced the gasket. Plus the warpage on the big 6 was more acute than on the four, taking a distinct banana-like configuration.

We also found that the door glass was not perfectly flat, as it appeared. In a slight display of understandable temper, said wife slammed the passenger door and shattered the glass. The slight curvature became apparent as we tried to replace the glass, and meant that a plexiglass window had to be installed. Even up for the fingers smashed by the heavy head.

Turning left, the steering tended to lock up, stuck in one spot, causing a few tricky moments on the road. The French built worm and roller box had a chip in the worm gear, and a local shop made a repair that diminished the awkward feature. Plenty of gas had to be kept in the fuel tank, for the Alfa was very nose heavy and with no weight on the rear and a lot of torque available, it tended to swap ends in a hurry. The 400mm tires were skinny, but were accompanied by those nice rare Borrani wheels with aluminum rims.

With the futuristic Zagato body (the rectangular headlights were years ahead of their time), the powerful straight six and the sturdy Alfa drivetrain, the 2600 Zagato was as close to a Ferrari as one could get, and a lot less expensive. In fact, after owning a 2600 Zagato, there was but one thing left, and that was to own a Ferrari.

End of an Era
Eventually, the Big Z was traded for a Ferrari 250/330 GT America, another one of the many candy bars on the market at the time, after failing to achieve a swap for an Alfa TZ1 which we wanted ever so badly. But that is another story. We were lucky to have made many more trips to the candy store before it all ended in the 1980s.

Life in the fast lane would never again be so much fun, exciting and inexpensive.