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Alfa Romeo Giulia, Stelvio to get special editions, one more refresh

Alfa Romeo has made its plans perfectly clear. It’s going EV, and that means that the Giulia and Stelvio as they exist today with powerful gasoline engines will eventually cease to exist. However, weÂ’re still a few years away from that electric future, so Alfa has a little time to play its current models out with style. We asked senior VP of Alfa Romeo Larry Dominique what we should expect from Giulia and Stelvio in between now and the switch to electric, and he was happy to give us a glimpse at whatÂ’s ahead. “So what weÂ’ve done is develop these buzz models,” Dominique tells us. “The first one is the Estrema, which weÂ’ve already announced and weÂ’re launching it with 2023 production in May. This fall, weÂ’re going to start talking about other things like a Lusso Edition and Competizione Edition and things like that.” WeÂ’ve already heard about the Estrema, but the Lusso Edition and Competizione Edition are both new. The Lusso, if Alfa remains consistent, will likely be a luxury-centered version of the Giulia and Stelvio. ItÂ’s the Competizione that has our attention. Similar to the Estrema, this model sounds like it would be directed toward enthusiasts and feature some performance upgrades. “So weÂ’re going to look at these different components, different parts, QV parts on a Veloce and things like that,” Dominique said. “Unique color combinations and unique colors.” Adding QV (Quadrifoglio) parts to non-Quadrifoglio models is a similarly enticing proposition. We can hope that it comes to pass, because this would result in some rather aggressive-looking Giulias and Stelvios that donÂ’t come with a Quadrifoglio price. Looking into the somewhat more distant future, Dominique says that the current generation Giulia and Stelvio will get one final refresh for the 2024 model year.  “In 2024 model year, weÂ’re going to have a final minor change for Stelvio and Giulia,” Dominique continued. “So youÂ’re going to see some changes visually inside and outside, associated with that. And weÂ’ll continue with the buzz model strategy, even though we have the 2024 change coming at the same time.” If youÂ’re a Giulia or Stelvio fan (as we tend to be), this final refresh car is bound to be a desirable one. Instead of dwindling away without any attention, Alfa is singing its gas-powered Giulia and Stelvio out with a little love before theyÂ’re officially put out to pasture in favor of electric models.

Alfa Romeo SZ, the brutalist 'Il Mostro,' restored by FCA Heritage

Nicknamed Il Mostro — "the Monster" in Italian — because of its unusual, almost brutalist design, the 1989 Alfa Romeo SZ was meant to showcase all the technological prowess of the Milanese firm at the time. It was also meant to plant a stake in the ground and return the revered marque to its rear-wheel-drive roots. Though it was an evolutionary dead end, the SZ is still considered among the most distinctive cars in a brand filled with distinctive models. It should, then, be no surprise that FCA Heritage, the classic car and history preservation arm of Stellantis (which, apparently, was not part of the name change) has just restored one. The SZ began life at the 1989 Geneva Motor Show as the ES-30 concept, which stood for Experimental Sports 3.0-liter. The production car was named SZ for Sprint Zagato, but the design is credited to Robert Opron of the Fiat Style Center, while Antonio Castellana did the finishing details and interior. Zagato used its coachbuilding expertise to build the cars, whose bodywork was formed from a composite thermoplastic material called Modar, made by Italy's Carplast and France's Stratime. Alfa Romeo also claims it was the first car to be produced using computer-aided design (CAD/CAM). Beneath the sci-fi exterior lay a 12-valve, 3.0-liter V6 plucked from the Alfa Romeo 75 3.0i Quadrifoglio Verde. With 204 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque, it was the most powerful Alfa of the time. Output was fed through a 5-speed transaxle and the suspension, Koni-designed shocks, and brakes reportedly tuned by Fiat and Lancia rally driver Giorgio Pianta and transplanted from the Alfa 75 1.8 Turbo Evolution Group A racer.  The original run was intended to span just 1,000 cars, but some sources say 1,036 were produced. That run ended in 1991, after which a roadster version called the RZ was built from 1992-93.  The example restored has been in Alfa Romeo's possession since the beginning. It served as a test car on the Balocco proving grounds and was used in promotional photos. There are several details on it that differ from production models, so much so that Alfa Romeo says it could be "considered a prototype." Unfortunately, as history shows, the SZ failed to usher in a real-wheel-drive renaissance at Alfa Romeo. After its end, there wasn't another rear-drive model until the 8C Competizione in 2007.

Abarth SP 1000 factory restomod entering very limited production

In May 2021, Abarth created a one-off roadster to celebrate the brand's racing history, called the Alfa Romeo Abarth 1000. Based on the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, this was a factory-made callback to the 1966 Fiat Abarth 1000 Sport Prototipo, a highly successful competition car designed for gentlemen racers who wanted to do more than just show up, but who wanted to win. The UK's Auto Italia magazine tweeted that FCA Heritage chief Roberto Giolito said the carmaker would produce at least five customer units of the new Abarth 1000, with a price of around GBP170,000 each ($228,500 U.S.) Details beyond that must wait for the February issue of Auto Italia, due to hit newsstands on January 6 for UK readers.  If this happens, it could close the circle on what the 4C was originally meant to be. Legend says the idea for the carbon-tubbed 4C should have spawned a hardcore Fiat that channeled the 1966 Abarth 1000. However, since the 4C took many of its cues and much of its technology from the limited-edition Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, it stuck to being a halo sports car for Alfa Romeo and all other branchings got pruned. Giolito likely reveals more in the interview, seeing as he was head of Fiat and Abarth design from 2011 to 2015. The reboot suits the modern 4C save for the high, 21st-century shoulder line. The 1966 car's low pointy nose, curvy fenders and myriad vents and scoops fit great, and we also dig the exposed roll bar and cut-down rear cowls. For such an expensive restomod, we might have wished for some mechanical changes. It appears there's no change to the 4C's mechanicals, with a 1,742-cc turbocharged four-cylinder sending its 237 horsepower to the rear wheels through a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. As such, this should probably be called the Abarth 1740 SP or 1700 SP rather than 1000, since the original was named after the displacement of the modified Fiat 600 engine it used. The original weighed 1,058 pounds dry and had 105 horsepower; the 2,465-pound production 4C won't feel as spry, but should perform a little better. Once British readers get the skinny from the magazine interview, we should know more.