Following a comprehensive teaser campaign, Alfa Romeo and Zagato have taken the wraps off the Giulia SWB. As the name implies, the one-of-a-kind car started out in life as a sports sedan before its wheelbase was shortened to create a sleek two-door coupe with no back seats. The donor car was a spicy Quadrifoglio model with the V6, but the Italian coachbuilder upgraded the car to the GTAm specification while retaining the six-speed manual gearbox.
The front-end styling is a mélange of old and new since it takes inspiration from the Alfa Romeo SZ while using the latest three-point LED headlight design of the 2023 Giulia facelift. The Kammback rear design takes after the Giulia TZ while the GTAm's massive rear wing has been removed to create a cleaner appearance.
2023 Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagato
A beefy diffuser hosts double vertical fins flanking the dual exhaust tips to echo the super sedan in its "Gran Turismo Alleggerita modificata" flavor. In typical Zagato fashion, the Giulia SWB has a double bubble roof and a vented hood. Aside from removing the rear doors, the coachbuilder also got rid of the conventional handles of the front doors to declutter the side profile. There's a button mounted on the B-pillar to open the doors. Just about every body panel has been redesigned and is made from carbon fiber.
At the heart of the one-off Giulia coupe is a twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6 bumped to GTAm spec, meaning it pumps out 533 horsepower (398 kilowatts) and 600 Newton-meters (442 pound-feet) of torque. Unlike the original GTAm sold only with an eight-speed automatic, power is routed to the wheels via the Quadrifoglio's six-speed manual transmission.
If you're wondering how the car came to be, Zagato wanted to celebrate 100 years since its first collaboration with Alfa Romeo. In 2021, a century after the 1921 Tipo G1, the project was green-lighted. The Milan-based design house was then approached by a German customer with an appetite for special cars. He not only owns a SZ and an 8C Competizione but also several Zagato-penned Aston Martin models and the latest products from Alfa Romeo.
After taking part in a photo shoot at the "La Pista" circuit in Arese, the shortened Giulia Coupe will be handed over to its rightful owner. Pricing details have not been disclosed but it must've cost a fortune considering a Giulia GTAm retailed for nearly $200,000 at home in Italy.
