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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.

2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Giulia add special trims, small updates

The 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Giulia aren't much different from 2023 models, but there are some notable and welcome updates to each line. They include some small styling and feature updates for every trim, a new range-topper for the standard engine, and a super special edition and a performance upgrade for the Quadrifoglio. Every new Stelvio and Giulia gets updated exterior features to match their European siblings, such as LED headlights with smoked housings and a new grille insert. Inside, the analog dials are replaced with a 12.3-inch digital display that can show a variety of information in different layouts, including one that mimics the classic double dial design. The new Alfas also are able to accept updates over the air. 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia Competizione View 25 Photos One of the more exciting updates to these Alfas is the 100th Anniversary Edition Quadrifoglio. It's available on both the Stelvio and Giulia, and only 100 of each will be offered globally. It's not very different to a regular Quadrifoglio, though except for gold-painted brake calipers, special badging, carbon fiber mirrors and grille, Alcantara seats and gold stitching. But it does benefit from a new feature added to all Quadrifoglio models: an actual mechanical limited-slip differential. That brings us to the Competizione trim. For the normal, four-cylinder Stelvio and Giulia, this is the new top of the line. It takes the former range-topper, the Veloce, and it adds some performance and luxury upgrades. It comes with electronically adjustable suspension and a limited-slip differential, along with sport seats. The interior also gets a leather-wrapped dashboard, red contrast stitching, darker window tint and a 14-speaker Harman Kardon sound system. Buyers can get it with an exclusive matte gray paint and red brake calipers. The Giulia can be optioned with staggered wheels, and the Stelvio gets unique 21-inch wheels. The Giulia Competizione starts at $53,115 for rear-wheel drive and $55,115 for all-wheel drive. The Stelvio is all-wheel-drive only, and it starts at $57,420. They go on sale in the second quarter of this year. Related video:

Coming Alfa Romeo large CUV to be an electric Italian Dodge Durango?

In the middle of 2022, Alfa Romeo boss Jean-Philippe Imparato told Reuters the Italian carmaker would develop a new battery-electric vehicle in the U.S. that would launch here in 2027. Created for markets that prize large SUVs, he said, "Our offer for a large size vehicle must fit international markets, American, Chinese, European." At the time, he cast doubt on whether the model would be as large as a BMW X5 (195 inches x 78.9 inches), and suggested it could combine crossover and sedan form factors. Imparato wouldn't be drawn on the production site for this new vehicle, but Reuters believed it probably won't be built in the U.S. Six months later, in January of last year, Imparato shared a few specs of the coming EV SUV with Automotive News Europe, by then called a "high-performance SUV" with motors putting out from 300 to 800 horsepower in the standard range and around 1,000 horsepower in a Quadrifoglio trim, and an 800-volt architecture would enable "recharging times of 18 minutes max." At this point, this SUV had also officially become a competitor to the X5, the BMW almost exactly 10 inches longer than the Stelvio (pictured), which is currently the largest product in the Alfa Romeo portfolio and the best-seller in the U.S. What had stayed constant was the potential of a tweener shape, Imparato having said that aerodynamic needs could lead to a shape between a sedan and a crossover.  With all that said, a post in a forum on of Spain's Cochespias (via Mopar Insiders) pinpoints the production site for the Alfa: The Detroit Assembly Complex - Jefferson plant in Detroit that builds the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango. The information comes from what appears to be a clip from a spreadsheet identifying current and future assembly sites and annual production figures. A line for the "E-CUV EV," this E-segment Alfa Romeo, refers to the assembly complex by its previous name, Jefferson North. The next-generation Grand Cherokee and Durango will sit on Stellantis' STLA Large platform, same as this flagship Alfa Romeo. The Grand Cherokee enters production at Detroit Assembly in 2026, the Durango in 2027. The spreadsheet shows production projections for the Alfa variant of 1,961 units for 2027, 10,715 units for 2028.  The next-gen Giulia and Stelvio, also on the STLA Large platform, are going to be built in the company's Cassino, Italy plant, so they can keep their geographical references.