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OR EMAIL [email protected]eMAILBOX
IT’S A VAREDO
Many thanks for the long
article about Carrozzeria
Zagato (Auto ItaliaApril
2019). I would like to add
one fact. The Iso Varedo
had nothing to do with
Zagato. Ercole Spada left
Zagato as the chief
stylist in 1969. He first
worked as a freelancer
and shortly thereafter for
Ford/Ghia. Piero Rivolta
himself engaged Spada
to design the Varedo
body in glassfibre in the
early 1970s.
Thomas Knetsch, Austria
DOWN UNDER
FIAT 125T
I wish to add a Fiat to
your recent feature,
‘Feisty Foreign Fiats’ (Auto
ItaliaFebruary 2019). You
may not be aware that in
New Zealand the Fiat
importer, Torino Motors,
built a modified version of
the locally-assembled Fiat
- It was called the Fiat
125T and was built to
contest the 1972 Benson
& Hedges production car
long-distance race. A
minimum of 200 had to be
built to qualify but
approximately only 85
were built.
The 125T used a
modified 1600 engine.
Two twin-choke Dellorto
or Weber carburetors, hot
cams, big valves, free
flow exhaust and other
modifications produced
125hp. Suspension was
lowered by two inches
and had NZ-built six-inch
wide alloy wheels. The car
had a larger 16.9-gallon
fuel tank which took up
most of the boot. A
standard 125 four-speed
gearbox was used.
All of the cars were
painted bright yellow with
black between the tail
lights. The interior was
the standard NZ-
assembled 125, which
included high-back front
seats. The standard
steering wheel was
replaced with one from a
Fiat 850 Sport Coupe. Top
speed was 112mph and 0-
60mph was 7.9 seconds.
The car did compete in
the race and three placedin the top ten. There are
very few genuine 125Ts
left now. Some are still
raced in NZ classic car
races. Thank you again
for a fantastic magazine.
Neale Batchelor, NZCANGURO
BOUNCE BACK
Please clarify something
for me. On page 32 of
Auto ItaliaFebruary 2019,
it's stated that Giorgio
Valentini, "moved the
steering column from
beneath the upper
chassis cross-member to
above it". Wasn't it in fact
the other way around, at
the request of Bertone,
who needed a lower
chassis to fit his
Canguro? The TZ2
benefited from this
request.
Toy de Carvalho,
South AfricaElvio Deganello replies: In
2005, I wrote: “I
photographed the
Canguro from every side,
and I asked the Bertone
Press Office for period
photos and I started to
gather information. I
realized that the Canguro
is 106cm (41.7 inches)
high, while Giulia TZ
Zagato is 120cm (47.2
inches) tall. The lower
height is therefore not a
visual impression, but it is
effective.“Looking at the picture
of the chassis I
understood how this
result was achieved: the
steering column passes
under the large cross
tube that connects the
tubes of the right side
with those of the left. I
have verified that the
frame of the Canguro is
#AR10511*750101 and is
different to the other TZ
frames up to
#AR10511*750103, in
which the steering
column passes over the
transverse tube.
“The lower steering
column, together with the
muffler moved sideways,
made it possible to lower
the driving position and
therefore the whole
vehicle. The idea seems
trivial, but nobody had
thought of it. I was told
that Giorgio Valentini hasmade this change, but I
have not been able to
know if he acted at the
request of Bertone or on
his own initiative. In any
case, the Canguro is the
first Giulia Tubolare with
the steering column
under the tube."
So in 2005, I wrote that
I did not know whether
the lowering of the
steering column had
been requested by
Bertone or was a
Valentini initiative. In
truth Alfa Romeo’s test
driver Guido Moroni had
already told me that the
initiative had been
Valentini’s, but Moroni
asked me to promise not
to reveal it to anyone
until after his death.
Unfortunately, Moroni left
his life on earth in 2014
and so now I can report
what he told me.