Author: John Mayhead
Zagato-bodied Alfa Romeos range from the glorious elegance of pre-war racing cars and the muscular beauty of the TZ racers through to the bulbous 2600SZ and the boxy ES30 SZ ‘Il Monstro’, but one Zagato-bodied Alfa Romeo stands out through its combination of clean, innovative design, superb handling, and a price that won’t break the bank: the Junior Zagato.
Hagerty condition 2 (‘Excellent’) values of both the 1300 and 1600 models of the Junior Zagato have risen very slowly over the past few years and currently sit at £40,425 and £46,300 respectively. Like most classic cars, prices experienced a post-Covid boost but the increases were not as pronounced as for a lot of other models and, when corrected for inflation, current prices are a little down on where they were in 2018.
That is surprising, as the model ticks pretty much every box that Hagerty considers to be collectable positives: well-known, celebrated marque, a world-class design company, excellent drivability and limited production numbers with around 1500 built in total. With Alfa’s famously revvy alloy twin-cam Nord engine driving the rear wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox and with servo-assisted disk brakes all round, they’re as nimble and fun as anything else of the era and are easy to maintain as they share a huge amount of mechanical parts with the other 105-series range. Gordon Murray even recently awarded the Junior Zagato the ultimate accolade of commissioning Alfaholics to create a modified ‘R’ version for him. So, why are they not more collectable?
I believe there are two issues. First, they’re a bit of a niche car and the ‘standard’ Alfa Romeo Spider, Bertone-bodied GT and saloon Berlinetta siblings are much better known. Plus, the Ercole Spada-designed Junior Zagato body is quirky and those huge rear quarterlights aren’t for everyone, despite offering fantastic all-round visibility. That said, the model’s unique look gives it an edge that makes it stand out at any car show and its spacious cabin makes it an excellent small grand tourer. In value terms, the 1600 has a slight edge over its smaller-engined sibling, with higher power output and smaller numbers made, but both models’ rarity should help maintain values over the long run.
Data for Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato:
- Max BHP: 114 at 5000rpm (1600)
- Weight: 948kg 0-60mph: 10 Seconds (1600)
- MPG: Around 27
- Total produced: 1300 Junior Zagato: 1108, 1600 Junior Zagato: 403
Own a Junior Zagato or have a story to share? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
