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Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagato revealed as a glorious green one-off coupe

Christmas came a few days early for one lucky enthusiast in Germany. Italian design house Zagato unveiled a one-off, carbon fiber-bodied coupe called Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagato that features a twin-turbocharged V6 and that was commissioned by a German collector. Zagato explained that it launched the project to celebrate 100 years of collaborating with Alfa Romeo, the current-generation Giulia and the V6 engine. It started by shortening the Giorgio platform that the Giulia and Stelvio are both built on. It then drew a head-turning coupe that borrows a handful of styling cues from several past and present Alfa models. The front end is dominated by air intakes (including one shaped like the Alfa grille) and it features a pair of Tonale-like LED headlights. The coupe's profile is characterized by a long hood, a short rear end and a carbon fiber double-bubble roof panel left unpainted, while the back end gets a thin, curved light bar and a massive air diffuser. While several cars inspired designers, including the 1989 SZ that Zagato helped design, the Giulia SWB isn't full-on retro or old-school in any way. It features carbon fiber body panels and it's powered by an evolution of the 2.9-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 engine fitted to the Giulia Quadrifoglio that's been updated to GTAm specifications. Technical specifications weren't released, but the GTAm's six is tuned to develop 540 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque. Starting with the Quadrifoglio's engine gave Zagato a big advantage: the V6 spins the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. The limited-edition GTAm is exclusively offered with an eight-speed automatic transmission. From the driver's perspective, the cabin is mostly standard Giulia fare; you'll find the same steering wheel, touchscreen, air vents and climate control interface in the same locations as in the Giulia. Green accents and several model-specific carbon fiber trim pieces help the SWB stand out from the sedan it's based on, and a major difference between the two cars is that the coupe is fitted with only two seats.  Zagato delivered the Giulia SWB to its new owner after shooting the photos you see in our gallery on the La Pista race track located near Alfa Romeo's hometown of Milan, Italy. There's no word on who owns it yet; all we know is that the coupe will join what sounds like a massive collection of high-end cars that includes an 8C Competizione, a 1990 SZ, plus a handful of Zagato-bodied Aston Martin models.

Stellantis invests more than $100 million in California lithium project

Stellantis said it would invest more than $100 million in California's Controlled Thermal Resources, its latest bet on the direct lithium extraction (DLE) sector amid the global hunt for new sources of the electric vehicle battery metal. The investment by the Chrysler and Jeep parent announced on Thursday comes as the green energy transition and U.S. Inflation Reduction Act have fueled concerns that supplies of lithium and other materials may fall short of strong demand forecasts. DLE technologies vary, but each aims to mechanically filter lithium from salty brine deposits and thus avoid the need for open pit mines or large evaporation ponds, the two most common but environmentally challenging ways to extract the battery metal. Stellantis, which has said half of its fleet will be electric by 2030, also agreed to nearly triple the amount of lithium it will buy from Controlled Thermal, boosting a previous order to 65,000 metric tons annually for at least 10 years, starting in 2027. "This is a significant investment and goes a long way toward developing this key project," Controlled Thermal CEO Rod Colwell said in an interview. The company plans to spend more than $1 billion to separate lithium from superhot geothermal brines extracted from beneath California's Salton Sea after flashing steam off those brines to spin turbines that will produce electricity starting next year. That renewable power is expected to cut the amount of carbon emitted during lithium production. Rival Berkshire Hathaway has struggled to produce lithium from the same area given large concentrations of silica in the brine that can form glass when cooled, clogging pipes. Colwell said a $65 million facility recently installed by Controlled Thermal can remove that silica and other unwanted metals. DLE equipment licensed from Koch Industries would then remove the lithium. "We're very happy with the equipment," he said. "We're going to deliver. There's just no doubt about it." Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares called the Controlled Thermal partnership "an important step in our care for our customers and our planet as we work to provide clean, safe and affordable mobility." Both companies declined to provide the specific investment amount. Controlled Thermal aims to obtain final permits by October and start construction of a commercial lithium plant soon thereafter, Colwell said. Goldman Sachs is leading the search for additional debt and equity financing, he added.

Lightly-camouflaged Alfa Romeo Stelvio snapped testing

With the Alfa Romeo Stelvio's expected reveal date at the Los Angeles Auto Show quickly approaching, we're not surprised to see prototypes testing in broad daylight with less and less camouflage. But even these latest spy shots make it difficult to determine details about the upcoming SUV. Just like before the headlights are disguised by heavy tape, but appear to be nearly identical to the ones found on the Giulia sedan. There's also a small v-shaped grille at the front with two rectangular ones on the bottom of the front fascia. The hood has three oddly-shaped ridges, but those are probably more camo to disguise actual creases. Previous SUVs were spotted with much smaller ruffles on the hood. The overall profile of the prototype remains the same as the ones we've spotted earlier with a design that mimics the Porsche Macan. The bulbous rear end of the SUV hasn't changed much either. The familiar taillights are still taped off, but appear to be taken straight from the Giulia. The massive exhaust tips, though, are new and would be more at home on a sports car. With the Stelvio expected to get the same gasoline and diesel powertrains as the Giulia, the weapon-sized exhaust tips on the prototype hint towards the possibility of the SUV getting the 2.9-liter V6 from the Giulia Quadrifoglio. Related Video: Featured Gallery Alfa Romeo Stelvio Exterior Spy Shots View 12 Photos Image Credit: CarPix Design/Style Spy Photos Alfa Romeo Crossover SUV alfa romeo giulia alfa romeo stelvio