01
Origins
Nothing about the Z-102 was probable. ENASA, Spain's state truck concern, employed Wifredo Ricart — lately of Alfa Romeo's racing department — and let him build a flagship: an all-alloy V8 with four overhead camshafts, dry-sump lubrication and a five-speed transaxle, in 1951, when Ferrari sold single-cam road cars. Bodies came from Touring, Saoutchik and the factory; a supercharged version claimed the title of the world's fastest production car in 1953. Each car consumed artisan hours the way its engine consumed fuel, and Spain's autarkic economy supplied almost no customers — perhaps 85 were built, most for export or prestige. The Z-102 existed to prove Spanish industry could match anyone, and on pure engineering it did. Franco's government eventually preferred the trucks; the glory had already been banked.
Pegaso Z-102 white vr TCE · Stahlkocher · CC BY-SA 3.0
