Few post-war Alfa Romeos embody the marque’s competition philosophy as completely as the Giulietta Sprint Zagato. Combining the sophisticated mechanical specification of the Giulietta with Zagato’s lightweight aluminium coachwork, the SZ proved extraordinarily effective in the under-1,300 cc GT category and became a familiar sight at European road races, hill climbs and circuits throughout the early 1960s.

Manufactured on 22 July 1960, chassis 00015 is an exceptionally early example, believed to have been delivered new through Conrero of Turin to Swedish racer Karl-Rune Ericsson. Surviving Swedish documentation indicates that Ericsson raced the car before it had been formally registered for road use, with 00015 making its competition debut on 7 August 1960.

Ericsson’s first outing with the Alfa could scarcely have been more successful. Entered in the Kanonloppet at Gelleråsen, Karlskoga, chassis 00015 won the Group III 1,001–1,300 cc class. The achievement was subsequently celebrated in contemporary BP advertising, which listed Ericsson and his Alfa Romeo alongside victories by such prominent names as Stirling Moss. A second-class victory followed at the Swedish Championship meeting at Skarpnäck in September, helping Ericsson to finish 2nd in the 1960 Swedish Championship, Group III, 1,001–1,300 cc.

The successful campaign continued throughout 1961, with chassis 00015 competing extensively on both conventional circuits and, characteristically for Scandinavia, on frozen lakes. Further class victories and strong finishes resulted in Ericsson taking 2nd in the 1961 Swedish Ice Championship and 4th in the 1961 Swedish Championship, establishing chassis 00015 as a genuinely successful period competition SZ rather than simply a car with incidental racing history.

Following Ericsson’s ownership, the car passed to Rolf Söderström in 1962, Bertil Alm in 1966 and Carl Linden in 1970 before being acquired by Olof Sahlberg in August 1972.

Sahlberg would retain the SZ for nearly 28 years. By this time the Alfa bore the evidence of the demanding life of a competition car. Sahlberg dismantled the car for restoration in 1974, but the project was never completed. Instead, the shell and a remarkable quantity of its components remained stored in Sweden for more than a quarter of a century.

The current owner discovered the dismantled SZ in 2000. Its bare shell remained supported on four original Borrani steel wheels, surrounded by boxes containing the correctly numbered engine, gearbox, Veloce cylinder heads, carburettors, manifolds, brake components, glass and Perspex, together with numerous additional Alfa Romeo competition parts. He acquired the car and collected it from Täby on 20 May 2000, transporting it and its components back to the United Kingdom and ending almost 40 uninterrupted years in Sweden.

What followed was both an extensive restoration and a detailed investigation into the SZ’s history. The current owner researched Swedish vehicle records, contacted former owners and traced Karl-Rune Ericsson himself, enabling the car’s competition career and ownership history to be fully documented.

A remarkable discovery came at the 2003 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where the current owner encountered a period poster relating to the 1960 Kanonloppet. This ultimately led to the discovery of the dated silver winner’s medal presented to Ericsson for chassis 00015’s first race on 7 August 1960, providing an extraordinary connection with the car’s competition debut.

The restoration itself was entrusted in part to Stuart Metrick of Downton Bodyworks. The chassis was mounted on a jig and carefully straightened, while incorrectly altered areas were reinstated and the aluminium coachwork repaired using the surviving original panels. Particular attention was devoted to reconstructing the distinctive early SZ nose, whose original grilles had been lost following an accident in period. New-old-stock aluminium SZ grille components were eventually sourced in Milan, allowing the correct form to be recreated.

Equal attention was paid to the mechanical specification. Importantly, the car retained its original 1,300 cc engine which was fully rebuilt with a pair of high lift camshafts and Webber carburettors.

After almost four years of work, chassis 00015 returned to the road.

With its evocative Zagato coachwork, original 1,300 cc engine and exceptionally well-documented period history, 00015 represents a compelling example of one of Alfa Romeo’s most important and desirable post-war competition GT cars.