1988 Alfa Romeo Spider - Quadrifoglio on 2040-cars

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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.

Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagato briefly teased, could be a coupe

Earlier this month, Alfa Romeo and Zagato teased the upcoming Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagato with a single image of an unbroken LED taillight outlining what looked like a Kamm-back rear end. Zagato recently published a few more teasers to its Instagram page, but someone might have pressed the Send button too soon — the video and images are gone from the source. No matter, because this is the internet. The new shots hint at something that could justify Alfa Romeo boss Jean-Philippe Imparato's assessment that the vehicle will be "very exciting, very selective, and very expensive." The image with the carbon-backed driver's seat contains a new rear window shutline and a crossbar. The redrawn glasshouse leads us to believe this will be a coupe, making the most of that Short Wheelbase designation. Some have called the crossbar a roll cage, but it looks to us like the kind of brace used in some cars that omit their rear seats, like the original Bentley Continental GT Supersports. The engine shot doesn't give anything away except the Quadrifoglio badge. The twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V6 could come with the same 505 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque as the Giulia Quadrifoglio, it could be uprated to the 532 hp and 442 lb-ft of the special edition Giulia GTAm, or, as buyers would hope, it could go beyond that. We'd expect the output to be sent through Alfa's eight-speed automatic transmission to the rear wheels through a limited-slip differential.  Zagato standards like new mesh vents and a vented hood make their appearances elsewhere. The grille gets printed with a stylized version of the red cross and crowned viper in Alfa Romeo's logo between the tri-section headlights that should debut on the facelifted Giulia. In back, a closer shot of the taillights gives away segments between LEDs, so the rear end won't be a continuous clamshell piece like the vintage Giulia TZ and Giulia TZ2. Detail bits like a carbon fiber front splitter and another take on the five-leaf-clover wheels from the Giulia GTA will make for dark and shiny jewelry.  The Giulia TZ debuted in 1963, the Giulia SWB Zagato will be the 50th birthday present to the original. Market launch is rumored to come in March next year, an official debut should come not long before that.  

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.