Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ returns as striking V6 coupe for 2023

Alfa Romeo will revive the classic Giulia TZ in a collaboration with famed design house Zagato - responsible for the original sports coupé.

The new car, dubbed the Giulia SWB Zagato, will draw heavily from the original in its design, with a low bonnet, swooping roofline and flat Kamm tail - while the rear light bar mimics the shape of the original Giulia Zagato TZ race cars of the 1960s.

A series of new teasers posted to Zagato's Instagram account hint at the new creation's performance-focused billing; its front end is lower and more aggressively styled than the standard Giulia, while the seats look to have been swapped out for track-derived items and the bonnet is now hinged at the front. 

Its underpinnings are expected to be thoroughly modern, borrowing the twin-turbo V6 and tweaked chassis from the Giulia Quadrifoglio - and potentially the fiery 533bhp unit from the limited GTAm. As the SWB name suggests, its wheelbase will be shortened to better mimic the original Giulia TZ.

A similar approach was taken for Zagato’s most recent Giulia-inspired creation – 2010’s TZ3 – which was effectively a rebodied, road-going version of the Dodge Viper ACR-X.

The new car is expected to launch around November 2023 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Giulia TZ’s racing debut at the FISA Monza Cup. TZs took second, third, fourth and fifth place in that event, the lead car helmed by Ferrari Formula 1 driver Lorenzo Bandini.

Given the original TZ’s status as a highly collectible classic – a 1965 example sold for £1,181,250 in Gooding & Company’s London auction earlier this year – the Giulia SWB Zagato is expected to be extremely limited in number.

Just 10 examples of the Giulia TZ3 were built: one racing version and nine road cars. An example sold for $489,000 (£403,000) in a 2020 auction, indicating the value of such cars to collectors.

Autocar understands the Zagato creation is separate from the long-promised Alfa Romeo supercar, recently reported to be months away from final approval.

Imparato told Autocar the new flagship could be a pure-ICE model, which means it could serve as the swansong for Alfa’s combustion engines, potentially offering a highly tuned version of the Giulia’s 2.9-litre V6.