1995 Alfa Romeo 155 T/S TI-Z – Zany Zagato Swan Song

We just had a look at the Lancia Dedra, so why not follow it up with another interpretation of the same platform in the distinctly boxy shape of the Alfa 155? But this is no common-or-garden cloverleaf-festooned Fiat we have here: it is one of a couple dozen Japan-only modified specials made by legendary coachbuilder Zagato, even as that venerable firm was on its last legs. But we have ours, so let’s take a walk around this thing.

When Alfa Romeo launched the 155 back in 1992, there was a little wincing from the marque’s numerous aficionados. This was clearly a FWD Fiat / Lancia dressed to look like the successor of the mighty RWD Alfa 75, a clear case of style over substance. Not untrue, but what was the alternative? Alfa was now part of the Fiat family and, just like Lancia before it, it would have to follow Turin’s lead and adapt its platforms, albeit while trying to retain some of its Alfa character, whatever that may be.

You can’t argue with the 155’s styling – it’s Alfa through and through. Not really my cup of espresso, but at least it has an identity. We’re not going to look into the general history of the 155 per se in this post, as this is a very special version that warrants its own focus. But just so we can get our bearings, let’s take a quick peek at something that looks more like a standard-issue 155.

This is another special, truth be told, but only in the sense that it’s one of the last batch of cars that Alfa shipped over to Japan when the 155 left the range in 1998.

They went to the trouble of numbering them, too. Superb marketing ploy on Alfa’s part, turning this lowly 4-cyl. saloon a sort of wannabe Bentley. As an aside, this particular car (which I photographed back in 2022) now lives in the United States.

The chassis underneath could be specc’ed to be fairly sporty. This is the mid-range 2-litre model, but unlike its Lancia Dedra and Fiat Tempra sister models, the Alfa 155 could have access to the 166hp 2.5 litre Busso V6. But that was more of a bragging rights thing; the real performer was the all-wheel-drive Q4 (which had a Fiat 2-litre engine) and the real seller was the 2.0 Twin Spark seen here, featuring a true Alfa 4-cyl., harking back to the 75.

But do take note of the car’s general physiognomy – flat fenders, small rear spoiler, seemingly undersized wheels…

Sometime in 1993, Alfa Romeo called upon coachbuilder Zagato to give their mid-range saloon a brawnier look. The idea was to take the top-of-the-range Q4 (2-litre Fiat DOHC 4-cyl. good for 190hp, paired with AWD) and get Zagato to produce a body kit befitting that car’s rather impressive specs.

Two prototypes were made by early 1994: one stayed in Italy, and the other was shipped over to Japan, where Zagato had recently made some good connections thanks to a couple of contracts with Nissan.

 

A quick word about Zagato might be appropriate here. Back in the Golden Age of Italian coachbuilding, i.e. the period that stretched roughly from the 1920s to the late ‘50s, there were dozens of firms fashioning some of the most beautiful and advanced bodies in the world. Carrozzeria Zagato, founded in 1919 on the outskirts of Milan, was a shining example of this era, specializing in lightweight and aesthetically innovative bodies. Zagato, in fact, were so successful that they managed to carry on existing for a much longer time than other small coachbuilders.

 

But gravity can only be defied for so long, and by the late ‘70s, things were beginning to look bleak. Alfa Romeo remained one of Zagato’s most enduring clients, but there had been a number of one-offs (e.g. the Zeta 6 or the Alfetta wagon above) that were actually missed opportunities for small production runs, including a body kit for the GTV and the Sprint coupés that looked pretty similar to our 155’s. Fiat’s takeover of Alfa did not alter the long-standing rapport between the coachbuilder, now headed by a new generation (Andrea Zagato and his brother Luca), and its best client, as shown by the Alfa 75-based S.Z. / R.Z. made in 1990-94.

But the last RZs were assembled even as Carrozzeria Zagato was under receivership. This was not the first time they teetered over the edge of oblivion – Zagato is one of those businesses that has always been more driven by passion than profits, like Aston Martin (coincidentally another one of their major clients). Two prototypes made for Nissan came to nothing that year, and the Alfa 155 body kit was deemed a non-starter by Alfa themselves.

But Luca Zagato figured that there was interest for these beefed-up 155s over in Tokyo. Against the wishes of Alfa Romeo then, Zagato struck a deal with a group of Japanese businessmen / Alfistas to launch the 155 T/S TI-Z as a limited edition. The body panels were made by hand by ex-Zagato craftsmen in a corner of the factory, but marketed by Z Automobili, a new joint Italo-Japanese company. The use of Zagato emblems all over the car is therefore slightly misleading, as these were technically sold by another company. But hey, times were tough.

The modifications applied to the 155 included bulging fenders, a lower body kit, revised bumpers with larger cooling vents, 17-inch wheels with special alloy rims, the same spec 2-litre engine as in the Delta HF Integrale producing 215hp, a beefed up and lowered suspension with improved dampers and springs.

The cherry on top (of the rear end) was a pretty large carbon fibre spoiler, which is conspicuously absent on our feature car. The mounting points are still clearly visible though.

 

Here’s what said spoiler looks like on another 155 T/S TI-Z found online. Good call on taking that thing off, I say.

The interior was left stock, as far as I can tell. There wasn’t too much left in the budget for fancy customization, nor was this necessarily Zagato’s strongest suit.

And naturally, because these were intended for Japan, cloth would have been preferred (though perhaps not universally so).

Sources vary on the precise production numbers, as one might expect for a car with such a tortuous historical background. Some claim a “few dozen,” some nail it down to 25 and yet others insist on a mere 21, the last of which was apparently sold in 1997. Similarly, it seems not all of these followed the original 215hp AWD spec seen in the prototypes, as some say about half were really just plain FWD 150hp 16-valve 1970cc Twin Spark models, and at least one is alleged to have the 2.5 litre V6.

In Alfa Romeo circles, the 155 has its fans, to be sure – especially nowadays. Back in the ‘90s however, many lamented how much Fiat content was present, so its commercial career was perhaps not as successful as it could have been. But judging from the numbers I’ve encountered in this country, Japanese Alfistas were enthused. So much so that a few well-meaning and well-heeled ones turned this unique Z-themed subvariant into a reality, no matter how Alfa Romeo themselves felt about it.

Zagato went through one of their periodic eclipses in the mid-‘90s, but they did manage to come out the other end. The carrozzeria is still active, though more focused on pure design than manufacturing. They still make the occasional small production run, such as the Maserati Mostro, the curious Dodge Viper-based Alfa TZ3 Stradale or the Aston Martin DB7 Z, but one-off models and show cars are their main automotive line, along with industrial design in general. The 155 T/S TI-Z was their last real “production” Alfa saloon to date. There’s a swan song begging for an encore.

 

Related post:

 

Cohort Outtake: 1995-98 Alfa Romeo 155 1.8TS – Fiat’s First Alfa, Alfa’s First Fiat, by Roger Carr