Introduction

8 vittorie: 1928 • 1937

90 modelli Zagato

Piloti – Pilotesse

Scuderia Sports Zagato Chopard

Museo Mille Miglia

Cronografo Chopard Zagato

Contents

Zagato’s story goes arm in arm with that of the Mille Miglia since the

onset of the race in 1927. The coachbuilding Atelier, founded in Milan in

1919 by Ugo Zagato, took part in all 24 Mille Miglias until 1957, winning

eight of them overall, plus innumerable class wins. The success of the

Zagato bodied cars lies in the solid rationalist and functionalist philoso-

phy, with its roots in the aeronautical fi eld: light frames and streamlined

bodies. In the ‘20s, the Atelier became offi cial partner of Alfa Romeo

and in the ‘30’s of Scuderia Ferrari. In 1938 – as reported by Giovanni

Canestrini, one of the founders of the race – at the start in Brescia, among

over 155 participants about 40 were Zagato cars. In the post-war events,

Zagato was the coachbuilder of choice to body the Gran Turismo mod-

els of the most important brands like Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Ferrari, Fiat,

Lancia and Maserati. Today like yesterday, in the commemorative Mille

Miglia, Zagato cars keep churning miles in the most beautiful race of the

world. For this reason, this work introduces a portfolio of the Zagato cars

eligible for the great competition.

24 Mille Miglias, 8 overall victories

In 1860, in the Swiss village of Sonvilier, the young artisan Louis-

Ulysse Chopard opened up an Atelier for the production of watches.

Within a few years, he built himself a solid reputation and found cus-

tomers all over Europe, spreading his name as far as Scandinavia and

the Russian Empire. The huge growth of the brand and the necessity to

meet in the best possible way the requirements of the clientele induced

him to move his HQs to La Chaux-de-Fonds, in the heart of the Swiss

watchmaking industry and later to Geneva, one of the world’s capitals of

luxury. In 1963, Karl Scheufele, heir of a dynasty of German watchmak-

ers and Jewellers, bought the company, giving it a boost to continue the

rich Chopard tradition. One of the fi rst watchmaking brands to create a

strong link with the automotive world, Chopard is sponsor and offi cial

time keeper of the Mille Miglia since 1988. In its collection of celebra-

tory models the magic of the great competition lives on. There are some

collections that quite naturally become landmarks on the watchmaking

scene over the years. Chopard's Mille Miglia Collection is one of them.

Mechanical quality and precision

ModelliZagato

Fiat509 A Spider Zagato - 1927

At the 1924 Paris Motor Show, Fiat

unveils the 509, known also as ‘lit-

tle 519’, a small runabout in size but

with advanced technical solutions.

Powered by a 990 cc 4 cylinder en-

gine, it’s available with different

bodyworks, including the Zagato

two seater spider.

Alfa RomeoRL SS Torpedo Zagato - 1927

Presented in 1921, this car reaches

the maximum development in the

Zagato bodied Super Sport version

with the highest power output of al-

most 90 hp. At the fi rst Mille Miglia,

Gastone Brilli Peri is in the lead for

three quarters of the race, but he

narrowly misses victory.

Fiat509 S Spider Zagato - 1927

In parallel to the Turismo versions

of the Fiat 509 A, there comes the

509 S (for ‘Spinto’, boosted) with

beefed up engine and the 509 SM

(‘Spinto Monza’). The latter, with

a spider-bateau body and pointed

tail, sports the typical fenders ‘à

la Zagato’.

OM 665 SMM Zagato - 1927

It is dated 1923 and is derived from

Lucien Barratouche’s project. Its

name recalls the number of cylin-

ders and the bore size. Despite the

not so powerful engine, the Zagato

body makes it light and agile.

Alfa Romeo6C 1750 Gran Sport Tipo Zagato

1932

OM

Alfa Romeo

665 SS MM Zagato - 1931

8C 2300 Spider Corto Zagato

1931

The 8C is the latest in the lineage of

the sporty Alfas. The engine is a new

8 cylinder equipped with two half

blocks in light alloy. In the 'Corto'

version by Zagato, it becomes one of

the protagonists of the Mille Miglia

thanks to Nuvolari, Scarfi otti, Brivio,

Borzacchini, Taruffi and Trossi.

Compared to the previous version,

style evolves towards more aerody-

namic lines, characterised by more

enveloping wheel arches. Moreover,

the displacement is up from 2.0 to

2.2 litres. This Mille Miglia Zagato

model uses the shortened wheel-

base, down to 2790 mm.

In 1932, Zagato gives in outsourc-

ing to the newly born Carrozzeria

Brianza the construction of part of

its bodies. Very few units of the Alfa

Romeo 6C 1750 GS V and VI series

were built by Brianza with a slight-

ly softer style.

Fiat509 S Spider Monza Zagato

1929

Lancia

Alfa Romeo

Lambda Sport Zagato - 1929

6C 1750 Gran Sport Zagato

1930

The Gran Sport version is added to

the IV series of the 6C, similar to

the 1750 SS apart from its new su-

percharger and a shortened wheel-

base. Four Zagato bodied units rank

in the fi rst four places of the 1930

Mille Miglia (won by Tazio Nuvolari).

Although presented in 1922, the

Lambda makes its debut in motor-

sport at the 1927 Mille Miglia (VII

series) with the 2.4 litre engined

Torpedo and Sport models. In the

following two years, thanks to con-

stant improvements, the Lambda is

always among the top dogs fi ghting

for victory at the fi nish line.

Some examples of the Fiat 509, devel-

oped for Mille Miglia, are equipped

with supercharger and are able to

go faster than 120 km/h. This par-

ticular unit, with a very stream-

lined Zagato body, sports envelop-

ing fenders, similar to those of the

Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS.

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Maria Antonietta ‘Baronessa’

AvanzoThe ‘Baroness’ was one of the pioneers of Italian motorsport. Not only

that: she was also an aviator, a journalist and a writer. She didn’t look tim-

id or fragile nor had she the smug self-assurance of the women drivers of

today. She was simply an enthusiastic, rich and passionate lady. Her beau-

tiful smile, wide and infectious, manifested her joie-de-vivre. She debuted

as a driver in the tour of Lazio in 1920: war had very recently ended and in

the heavy atmosphere of the reconstruction, a sunny and smiling woman

barged into the preponderantly male scene. The following year, she bought

herself a 12 cylinder Packard, with which she took part in the fl ying start

kilometre races, winning her own class.

Her consecration, though, happened a little later at the Motoring Week

in Brescia with an Alfa Romeo ES: she won the Ladies Cup and fi nished

third in the Gentlemen Grand Prix. In 1928, she participated in her fi rst

Mille Miglia, in fact she was the fi rst woman ever to enrol in the race. She

raced at the wheel of a Chrysler, but the car betrayed her around Perugia

and she was forced to retire. The ‘Baronessa’ took her demise gracefully,

but she was furious when, in the following days, Giovanni Canestrini, in

his articles, mentioned all the entrants apart from her. She had another

go in 1929, when she raced a 1750 SS Zagato, given to her directly by Alfa

Romeo. In 1932 she was recruited by Scuderia Ferrari, so she participated

in her third Mille Miglia, albeit unsuccessfully. In the following years, she

often drove other Zagato models in various races like the Alfa Romeo 6C

1750 and the Fiat 1500 Spider. At the 1940 event, at the age of 51, she con-

cluded her racing career.

Ferdinanda ‘Dorina’

ColonnaIn 1924, Gioacchino Colonna, Prince of Stigliano, married the young

Ferdinanda, heir of a family of big landowners from Veneto. According to

her contemporaries, Princess ‘Dorina’ Colonna was a very classy, charming

and suave woman. She felt rebellious against the prejudice about women,

common in those obscure years and an obstacle to her passion for cars.

Suffi ce it to say, in fact, that the Automobile Club of Milan, the fi rst one

in Italy, opened its doors to female members only in 1920. Racing for a

woman driver was almost a scandal: it meant to be bold and to defy every

convention. Additionally, it was necessary to be wealthy and have a con-

senting family.

Dorina, living in the tranquillity of the magnifi cent Villa Giovanelli

Colonna of Noventa, on the outskirts of Padua, could count on both fac-

tors to satisfy her desire to confront herself with the opposite sex. Some

sources relay that, when she participated in the 1930 Mille Miglia, she was

already engaged in a private racing team of aristocrats founded by Mar-

quis Niccolini. Dorina appeared at the start of the race in Brescia at the

wheel of the best possible car at the time: an Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran

Sport Zagato. For the record, the princess was in a very good position at

the fi nish line in Rome and it was only because of a technical problem that

she had to retire when she wasn’t far from Brescia. Nevertheless, her stun-

ning performance earned her the admiration of the press, that considered

her one of the few, talented women drivers of Italy.

Anna Maria ‘Marocchina’

PeduzziShe was one of the best women drivers of her time. She was described

as a tall, beautiful and elegant woman, with an open smile and a great sense

of humour, plus the rare virtue of self-mockery. She started racing cars ‘be-

cause of’ love. In 1932, when she was 20, she married Gianfranco ‘Franco’

Comotti, talented gentleman driver who instilled into her the passion for

cars. Enzo Ferrari about them: “Theirs was a real love story born within my

team.” In fact, at the start of the 1934 Mille Miglia the newly-weds arrived

on board of an Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 Gran Sport ‘Testa Fissa’ Zagato with

the Scuderia Ferrari livery.

Comotti and the ‘Marocchina’ (‘Moroccan lady’, Anna Maria’s nick-

name as she had an olive complexion) fi nished 13th overall and fi rst in the

up to 1.5 litre class. After that, Peduzzi faced the best drivers in the hard-

est races of the time, proving her technical skills and courage. Towards

the end of the ‘30s, together with her beloved Franco, she moved to Paris

and lived there until the end of the war. They went back to Italy in 1947

and the ‘Marocchina’ immediately resumed her racing career (with Osca,

Stanguellini, Ferrari and other cars), standing her ground with the best

drivers of the time. She was still among the ladies who were protagonists

of the Mille Miglia in the years 1953, ’54 and ’55.