Zagato’s forgotten leisure vehicle
Although Alfa Romeo is entering a new segment for this brand with the Tonale, this model appears to have unexpected predecessors. Such as the Z33 Free Time from Zagato, which, like the Tonale, appeals to better leisure activities. This study was presented at the same time as the Alfa 33 Giardinetta 4×4.
The loss of the Geneva motor show makes a car enthusiast melancholy, especially when they look up the edition of roughly 1984 in the car magazines. Highlights were the Renault 25, the civilian version of the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 and, to top it off, the Ferrari 288 GTO. The nice thing about Geneva is that coachbuilders traditionally show their most creative side. This includes Zagato, which showed a successful Alfetta station wagon in 1984, and the wonderful study model Alfa Romeo Z33 Free Time, built on the basis of the Alfa 33.
Developed on behalf of Alfa Romeo as a leisure vehicle
The motoring press paid little attention to it at the time, but that does not make the model any less interesting. Zagato developed the Z33 on behalf of Alfa Romeo as a leisure vehicle with extra interior space and high ground clearance. It did not yet have four-wheel drive, because Alfa would only introduce it on the 33 Giardinetta at the same Geneva fair. Although the high, angular body had clear features of the Giulietta, it also had proportions that clearly evoked associations with the Range Rover. Zagato’s choice to give the Z33 only two doors has therefore been explained in our opinion. The interior was multifunctional, with movable and folding seats. The crazy elevation at the rear was designed to prevent the Z33 from looking like a delivery van. Nowadays we would call such a model a crossover, a phenomenon that was not very common in 1984.
Z33 was too far ahead of time
The fact that Zagato decided to cross two burgeoning car genres for the Z33 made it extra special. After all, the car world had just become acquainted with the space car phenomenon, while luxury was hardly associated with off-road vehicles. In this new, still very sparsely populated part of the market, the Range Rover was the benchmark and the Matra Rancho and Toyota Tercel 4WD performed some missionary work in a lower echelon. There was no breakthrough. The Z33 would probably not have made it in that quiet corner of the market either. He was too ahead of his time. And no one saw it. 
The Z33 Free Time, or Tempo Libero as it was called in the Italian press, was 15 mm shorter, 108 mm wider and 295 mm higher than the Alfa 33 1.5 Quadrifoglio on which it was based.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl