Zagato TZ3 Stradale: Alfa curves meet America muscle

The beautiful Alfa Zagato TZ3 Stradale

Zagato has built another car to celebrate the centenary of Alfa Romeo. The Zagato TZ3 Stradale has a glorious carbon fibre Alfa body over a Dodge Viper ACR

There’s been a lot going on to celebrate the centenary of Alfa Romeo, not least the cars created to pay tribute to a marque that still oozes petrol from every pore.

January 2011 saw the Alfa Romeo Pininfarina Concept at Geneva Motor Show, April saw the Alfa Romeo TZ3 Corsa début at Villa D’Este and Christmas had us expecting a Zagato TZ4 Stradale after Zagato’s Christmas card seemed to show what we thought could be an Alfa Romeo Zagato TZ4 all wrapped up in a bow.

Now, four months on, Zagato has taken the bow of the Christmas present and presented us with the Zagato TZ3 Stradale, beautiful Alfa curves and based on a … Viper. Yes, this is Alfa Romeo meets Dodge Viper ACR by way of a Zagato test tube. And boy, does it look good – and promise much.

American muscle wrapped in Italian style is an acquired taste, but for a fan of original De Tomasos – and even the odd Iso Rivolta – it’s an enticing combination of style and grunt. A different take on the performance dance. Dirty Dancing meets La Scala Ballet.

With 600bhp from its 8.4-litre V10, this Alfa Zagato TZ3 Stradale promises performance to match its drop-dead gorgeous looks of something better than 4 seconds. It also promises much for a very select few, as just nine TZ3 Stradales are being built.

Zagato already has homes for three of the cars – American collector Eric King gets one plus one sold in Europe and one to Japan – but there are six more up for grabs.

But if you need to ask how much…