Alfa Romeo and coach builder Zagato are teaming up on a new model – likely a coupe – based on the Giulia sedan.
Given the shape of the car’s rear light bar, it seems as though the model labelled as the Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagato will pay homage to the Giulia TZ from the 1960s.
If the original TZ collaboration between Alfa Romeo and Zagato is anything to go by, the regular Giulia sedan and Giulia SWB Zagato will share underpinnings but wear completely different suits.
1964 Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ
As it will have a shorter wheelbase than the sedan, it’s probably fair to assume the Giulia SWB Zagato will be a coupe.
Earlier this year, Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato said the company was planning to launch a “very exciting, very selective, and very expensive” two-door model in 2023, indicating the Giulia SWB Zagato will be a low production run car rather than a full-time member of the Alfa crew.
Autocar understands the Giulia SWB Zagato is completely separate from the company’s supercar project, which the magazine believes won’t be formally approved and announced until March 2023.
During Sergio Marchionne’s reign as Fiat Chrysler’s CEO there were plans to expand Alfa Romeo’s portfolio with a pair of coupes: a successor to the 8C supercar, as well as a GTV based on the Giulia’s architecture. Along with other touted models, such as a larger crossover and sedan, neither of these coupes came to fruition.
Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA and Giulia TZ
We don’t know for certain what’s going to power the Giulia SWB Zagato, but logic dictates it will be a version of the Quadrifoglio’s 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6.
In standard trim this engine is tuned to deliver 375kW and 600Nm to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic. It’s capable of catapulting the Giulia Quadrifoglio to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds.
There’s also a more powerful 400kW version of the engine in the stripped-back GTA and GTAm variants.
