Founded in Milan in 1919, Zagato is a legendary independent coachbuilder that’s been responsible for penning some of the most iconic exotic cars of all time. And after previously designing Alfa Romeo’s late ‘80s/early ‘90s era SZ (short for Sprint Zagato) — also known by its unofficial nickname of “Il Mostro” (Italian “for the Monster”) — the firm has now been tapped to deliver a modern one-off homage to the SZ, giving way to the Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagato.
Created through a collaboration between Zagato and the Alfa Romeo Style Centre, the Giulia SWB Zagato is based on the Turin firm’s top-of-the-line Giulia Quadrifoglio model, though the four-door flagship has been chopped up, receiving a shorter chassis — as the car’s “SWB” monicker would suggest. Sitting atop the shorter frame is a completely novel two-door body design that’s crafted entirely from lightweight carbon fiber. This new body design includes an aggressive-looking vent-equipped hood and a thoroughly modern take on the SZ’s six-beam side-by-side headlight arrangement. Out in back, the Zagato-designed one-off features a sweeping LED light bar that runs the full width of the car and pays homage to the truncated taillight setup found on Alfa’s original SZ Codatronca.
Like the Quadrifoglio-spec Giulia that it’s based on, the Giulia SWB Zagato is powered by a twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V-6. Unsatisfied with the already high-performance stocker’s 505-hp factory output, the Giulia SWB Zagato has been tuned to GTAm spec, now pumping out 533hp and an unchanged 443ft-lbs of torque. Also noteworthy is the fact that the twin-turbo V6 has been mated to a six-speed manual transmission. Lastly, the interior of the Alfa is also a completely bespoke affair that’s loaded with carbon fiber elements.
As a pre-commissioned one-of-one vehicle, the Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagato was already spoken for prior to even being built. So, while it isn’t available for purchase, the Giulia-based one-off nonetheless makes us extremely excited to see what contemporary interpretations of its classic car designs that Zagato whips up next.
