The age of La Dolce Vita in Italy in the 1950s reached an apex when legendary directors such as Federico Fellini, Roberto Rossellini, Luchino Visconti, Sergio Leone and Bernardo Bertolucci created atmospheric movies at the Cinecittà studios in Rome. The location attracted some of the most famous stars in the world – Elizabeth Taylor and Ingrid Bergman, Gina Lollobrigida, Anna Magnani – all of whom indulged themselves at the boutique jewellers on the Via Condotti: Bulgari. 

The Bulgari family is of Greek descent and the famous trademark is usually written BVLGARI in the way stonemasons of the day generally carved the letter ‘U’. It is derived from the surname of the company's founder, Sotirios Voulgaris, a Greek surname with a loose translation meaning ‘Bulgarian’. 

Gianni Bulgari, born in 1935, is the grandson of Sotirios and ran the company throughout the 1960s to the 1980s. Cars and car racing were his early passions, and later in life he enjoyed flying. In the 1990s took a controlling interest in Italian motorcycle manufacturer Moto Guzzi.

Bulgari’s Alfa Romeo SZ was the car in which he embarked on a racing career that spanned some five years and included top-level national events and the occasional foray elsewhere in Europe such as to the Nürburgring or competing in the road-race Tour de France Automobile. He owned a Ferrari 250 GTO in 1963, and in 1964 raced an Alfa Romeo TZ at Sebring. One of his last track outings was with fellow Roman businessman and former GTO owner hotelier Sergio Bettoja in a Mercedes saloon on the 1964 TdF. Like Bulgari, Bettoja was an enthusiastic SZ racer in the early 1960s. 

According to research conducted by the current owner with the assistance of Carrozzeria Zagato, SZ chassis number ‘00043’ was completed on 23 September 1960 to a specification of metallic grey with a red interior. It was sold to Gianni Bulgari for 2,700,000 lire on 7 January 1961 and registered Roma 437892. Bulgari “bought the SZ in 1961 after owning a Giulietta SS by Bertone that used the same chassis of the Zagato but was heavier and bulkier and less suited for competition.”

Entered by the Roman Scuderia Campidoglio and prepared by racing car manufacturer de Sanctis, the car’s first outing was a solo drive for the owner at the January 1961 Stallavena-Boscochiesanuova hillclimb, where he finished 5th in class. Next stop Sicily in April for the Targa Florio. Bulgari shared the car on the Targa with fellow Italian Maurizio Grana, with whom he drove for most of his career. Bearing race number 40, the SZ retired after six laps of the demanding Piccolo Circuito delle Madonie course.

The rest of the year was more successful. At some stage a red stripe appeared on the small car’s nose and by August, for the 4 Hours of Pescara, Bulgari had added Perspex headlamp covers taped onto the front wings. Full results for 1961:

•    9 April 1961 Stallavena-Boscochiesanuova, Gianni Bulgari, #526, 5th in class
•    30 April 1961 Targa Florio, Gianni Bulgari/Maurizio Grana, #40, DNF
•    18 June 1961 XXVII Coppa Gallenga, Gianni Bulgari, #214, 1st in class
•    18 June 1961 Strettura-Passo della Somma, Gianni Bulgari, #212, 1st in class
•    09 July 1961 Trento-Bondone, Gianni Bulgari, #206, 7th overall
•    15 August 1961 4 Hours of Pescara Coppa Acerbo, Gianni Bulgari/Maurizio Grana, #92, 10th overall, 2nd in class
•    10 September 1961 Coppa Inter-Europa Monza, Maurizio Grana, #41, not classified

Bulgari remembers the 4 Hours of Pescara, and his frustrations with a new version of the SZ driven by Elio Zagato: “In the Coppa Acerbo in 1961, I came out second in the class behind Elio Zagato himself who was driving the prototype of a new SZ called coda tronca, a more aerodynamic version with a typical Kamm back. It was faster on the straight and I couldn't bridge the gap.”

The Bulgari/Grana partnership continued in the car in 1962, though this time the car was entered by Scuderia Settecolli and the pair competed in just one race, the Targa Florio:

•    06 May 1962 Targa Florio, Gianni Bulgari/Maurizio Grana, #12, DNF

In late 1962 or early 1963, Bulgari sold the car to fellow Roman Gilberto Castagnini, who painted it dark red (which remains on the car today). Its distinctive taped-on headlamp covers, and rare steel/alloy wheels were retained. On 5 May 1963, entered again by Scuderia Settecolli, Castagnini’s brother Mario and Corrado Ferlaino started the Targa Florio. Period photographs of ‘00043’ at the famous event show it as race no. 26, with steel wheels on the front and the combination steel/alloy rims on the back – a set-up confirmed by Gianni Bulgari, who stated it was “fashionable to put them only on the rear for better road holding.”

The pair had no more success than Bulgari with the SZ in Sicily – another DNF. After one last outing that year for Castagnini on the Frascati-Tuscolo hillclimb, it was sold to former Maserati and Alfa team mechanic Antonio Bonanno, acting on behalf of fellow New York resident Lorenzo Garcia. Bonanno travelled from the US to Italy, bought the red SZ from Gilberto Castagnini and shipped it back in 1964. 

A copy of a Declaration of Sale for the SZ dated 11 August 1963 confirms the transaction and the amount paid of 600,000 lire. 

Art director and former soldier Lorenzo Garcia of Laurelton, New York, removed the grille to make it run cooler in hot NYC summers, and also added a NART (North American Racing Team) sticker to the front wing. Other than that, it remained ‘as raced’ at the 1963 Targa Florio and was only occasionally used. It was last registered on 25 March 1969 before being left in Garcia’s garage as “it might be worth something some day,” so Bonanno told him. The pair were close and loved talking about the car. 

In April 2014 the car was discovered as a total ‘time-warp’ Alfa Romeo racing car from the early 1960s. In a sale handled by Lidia Bonanno, Antonio Bonanno’s daughter, Garcia was present to see his beloved Alfa Romeo move on to pastures new. It was sold at auction in January 2015 to Stanley Bauer of Los Angeles, California. Bauer commissioned a $100,000 sympathetic restoration that retained the period dark red paint and patina of ‘00043’ when it ran in the Targa Florio in 1963, while overhauling it mechanically, including rebuilding the engine. 

Together, Bauer and ‘00043’ completed the 2016 Colorado Grand and entered the Preservation Class at Pebble Beach in August 2017. The current US owner bought the car from Bauer in 2018. 

Since then, he has carried out extensive research on its history including interviews with Gianni Bulgari and Lorenzo ‘Larry’ Garcia, all arranged by Lidia Bonanno. It featured on the front cover of the watch collecting publication HODINKEE Magazine, Volume 3. To protect the originals, a set of Zagato-signed headlight covers were 3D-scanned, printed and fitted. Dominick’s European Car Repair in White Plains, NY, carried out further preservation work.

In 2019, chassis ‘00043’ was selected to participate in the 2019 Greenwich Concours celebrating 75 years of Zagato curated by Andrea Zagato. Andrea and Marella Zagato photographed the car for their records as a definitive reference SZ. It won the post-War preservation award at Greenwich, and later featured in the popular ‘A Man And his Car’ book alongside the likes of Jay Leno and Ralph Lauren.

R&R Automotive of Mount Kisco, New York, carried out a full mechanical overhaul of the car from 2021 to 2022. The work included a full and complete engine rebuild; suspension servicing; checking the electrical system; rebalancing the propshaft. In total, more than $30,000 was spent to bring car to complete ‘turn-key’ mechanical condition. The work was completed in August 2022.

To summarise, this Alfa Romeo SZ is currently in the exact state it was when it ran in the 1963 Targa Florio, but with full mechanical reconditioning. It retains all its body panels, glass/Perspex, complete interior including carpeting and headliner, period registration and Targa Florio decals, rare alloy wheels and period Zagato-signed headlight covers (plus exact duplicates to preserve originals). The engine block was swapped at some stage in its (probably early) career and a spare block is also included in the sale. Whilst in the current owner’s hands, FIVA certified ‘00043’ as ‘Group 2, Original’ in its Preservation classification. 

Boasting significant racing history with first owner Gianni Bulgari, an almost unheard-of high percentage of original components, FIVA certification and eligible for all the right events, presented in extraordinary ‘time-warp’ condition yet completely ready for action, this Alfa Romeo SZ is almost unique. 

How apt that this particular SZ, a model often described as a jewel, should have been owned by a member of the famous Roman family supplying beautifully set gemstones to the stars. We commend it.