First shown to the public at the 1969 Turin Motor Show, the Alfa Romeo Giulia GT 1300 Junior Zagato — universally known as the Junior Z — arrived as the most refined expression of the Tipo 105 platform to date. Zagato of Milan clothed the familiar 2,350 mm wheelbase in bespoke aluminium and steel bodywork, producing a compact grand tourer whose silhouette remains one of the most coherent of its era. Norev's die-cast interpretation in 1:18 brings that shape into the display cabinet with the restraint the subject deserves.
A Zagato GT on Giulia Running Gear
The Junior Z sits on the same platform as the Giulia Sprint GT and shares the twin-cam inline-four engine fitted to the standard 1300 Junior road car — a 1290 cc unit producing approximately 89 hp (DIN) at 6,000 rpm. What Zagato changed was everything the eye could see: the roof gained the house signature double-bubble profile, the tail was cut short, and a large curved rear window replaced the Bertone GT's more upright glasshouse. The result was a drag coefficient that undercut the standard car while carrying coachbuilt cachet in a body produced in very small numbers in Milan.
1,108 Units, 1969–1972
Production of the 1300 Junior Z ran from the Turin debut in 1969 to 1972, when Zagato introduced the 1600 variant on the same platform. Across that three-year run, approximately 1,108 examples were completed — a figure that places the car firmly in coachbuilt-rarity territory rather than mainstream series production. Green was among the factory catalogue colours offered for the Junior Z, consistent with period Italian coachbuilder practice. While some privately owned examples appeared at club-level competition, the car catalogued here is a standard road specification, as originally supplied.
Norev's 1:18 Die-Cast in Green
Norev produces this Junior Z as a 1:18 die-cast metal model, the scale at which the short-tailed Zagato body reads with the most clarity. The double-bubble roofline — the single detail collectors scrutinise most closely on any Zagato reproduction — is faithfully rendered in metal rather than resin, offering durability alongside display quality. Factory green is a less common colour choice in 1:18 Italian GT releases, where red and white dominate; this variant fills a genuine gap for the collector working through period Alfa Romeo and Zagato subjects.
Placing It in the Collection
The Junior Z in green sits naturally alongside other Tipo 105 subjects — the Giulia Sprint GT or GTA in Bertone body — as well as the Alfa Romeo TZ and TZ2, the earlier Tubolare Zagato race cars that the Junior Z's styling consciously referenced. Collectors building a Zagato-specific shelf will find the companion Lancia Fulvia Sport a direct period counterpart from the same coachbuilder. For those focused on the 1969 Turin Motor Show generation of Italian GTs, the Alfa Romeo Montreal occupies a parallel position from the same era and works well as a display neighbour.
