A great man
Dmitri Nabokov was not just the son of Vladimir Nabokov, undoubtedly one of the most important writers of the 20th century. Dmitri was also a writer himself and a well-known translator, a talented athlete and a gifted opera singer (who even performed with Luciano Pavarotti). He also loved fast cars, owned several Ferraris and a Bizzarrini, among others, and was even a fairly successful racing driver. Dmitri Nabokov was a truly great man, standing over 1.90 metres tall. And that explains why we are looking at the only Giulia TZ with a ‘double bubble’ roof: Nabokov had ordered it that way, and Zagato was of course able to deliver. Whether it makes the TZ, this masterpiece by the great Ercole Spada, more beautiful is another matter.
Nabokov sent his white TZ, #750061, to Carlo Facetti for tuning – and drove it in no fewer than 23 races over the next year and a half. There were also various class victories and good placings, such as fourth place in class at the 1000 km of Monza in 1965. In August of the same year, Nabokov sold the Alfa to Australia. There, #750061 had many owners and a long racing career. It was first painted bronze, then red, and even received a new engine (originally 00062, now a 536 engine from a 1966 Giulia GT). This probably explains the relatively low estimated price of 700,000 to 900,000 dollars when the vehicle, which has been in the Quadrifoglio Collection since 1991, goes under the hammer at RM Sotheby’s in Monterey in August 2025.
Want to know everything about the Alfa TZ? You got it, right here. And then there’s the archive.