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Forget The Sedan: This Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Is A Two-Seat Convertible

Italian coachbuilder turns the sedan into a coupe-cabrio with a radically new look.

Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA by Castagna Milano

Photo by: Castagna Milano

Adrian Padeanu

By: Adrian Padeanu

Oct 21, at 3:40am ET

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An Italian coachbuilder wants to transform the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio into a two-seat convertible, complete with carbon-fiber bodywork and a very French-looking front end. The donor car is already one of the most distinctive sports sedans on the market, but Castagna Milano believes it can be even more special.

The Italian coachbuilder has unveiled plans for a one-off, open-top version of the performance sedan, reimagining it as a two-seat grand tourer with radically redesigned bodywork. There's just one catch: The proposed front end looks suspiciously like something Peugeot might have designed. Those fang-like daytime running lights are hard to ignore, and once you spot the resemblance to the French brand's styling, it's difficult to unsee it.

Of course, the rest of the car goes well beyond a simple styling exercise. Castagna Milano envisions a bespoke creation with extensive carbon-fiber bodywork, a dramatically elongated hood, and proportions that bear little resemblance to the aging-but-still-excellent sedan underneath.

Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA by Castagna Milano

Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA by Castagna Milano

Photo by: Castagna Milano

A Giulia Quadrifoglio Like No Other

The transformation would involve moving the front seats 330 millimeters (11.8 inches) farther back to make room for a much longer hood. The redesigned hood would sit 40 mm (1.6 inches) lower than the standard item and feature a large exposed carbon-fiber section. At the front, angular, Y-shaped elements would create brake-cooling ducts while partially concealing the headlights. Castagna Milano would also widen both tracks to match those of the hardcore Giulia GTAm and add pronounced fender extensions.

At the rear, a cutout beltline would sweep around the body and incorporate the taillights. A diffuser and active rear spoiler would complete the look, giving the bespoke convertible a more aggressive stance than the standard Quadrifoglio.

Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA by Castagna Milano

Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA by Castagna Milano

Photo by: Castagna Milano

As you'd expect from a coachbuilt special, the cabin would receive its own treatment. Castagna Milano proposes wood trim, two types of leather, and new glass all around. Despite losing its fixed roof and rear seats, the car would reportedly offer 623 liters (22 cubic feet) of luggage space with the fabric top folded away.

The coachbuilder is also targeting a surprisingly low weight of just 1,420 kilograms (3,131 pounds). That would make the proposed convertible lighter than many conventional sports cars, although we'll have to wait for a real car to see whether it meets that target.

Under the long hood, the Giulia would retain Alfa Romeo's familiar 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6. Castagna Milano hasn't announced any changes to the engine's output, but it promises a longer final-drive ratio to make cruising more efficient. In other words, this would be a grand tourer rather than an all-out track special.

Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA by Castagna Milano

Source: Castagna Milano

Will It Ever Be Built?

For now, Castagna Milano's Giulia Quadrifoglio cabriolet exists only as a digital design proposal. The coachbuilder needs to find a customer with deep pockets and a genuine appreciation for Alfa Romeo to commission the one-off project.

The company also sees the car as a statement about independent coachbuilders at a time when automakers increasingly handle personalization and design in-house. Whether this proposal becomes reality remains to be seen.

Still, the idea of a lightweight, carbon-bodied Giulia convertible with a twin-turbo V6 sounds appealing on paper. We're just not entirely convinced by the Peugeot-inspired face. If the project goes ahead, let's hope the final car looks more unmistakably Italian than French.

It also makes us wonder why Alfa Romeo didn't expand the Giulia family with a coupe, a convertible, or even a wagon to take advantage of economies of scale. It's too late for that to happen with the current generation, but coachbuilders are happy to fill the void for the right price.

2023 Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagato

Not The First Coachbuilt Giulia

Case in point, Castagna Milano isn't the first company to see an opportunity to make the Giulia far more exclusive. Back in 2022, Zagato unveiled the Giulia SWB Zagato, a striking two-door coupe developed to celebrate the design house's long relationship with the Italian automaker.

Unlike Castagna Milano's proposed convertible, the Zagato was a shortened, fixed-roof coupe with bespoke bodywork and a more traditional grand touring silhouette. It was based on the Quadrifoglio platform and featured the same twin-turbo V6, while also drawing inspiration from the high-performance Giulia GTAm.

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The two projects take very different approaches to the same idea: using Alfa Romeo's sports sedan as the foundation for a low-volume, coachbuilt special. Zagato went for a dramatic coupe, while Castagna Milano wants to cut off the roof and create a two-seater with a much longer hood.

You won't find either in an Alfa Romeo configurator, and that's precisely the point. These bespoke creations target customers willing to pay for something far rarer than a standard production car.

The Giulia Is Still Alive:

Alfa Romeo Giulia And Stelvio Refuse To Die, Get Another Update Instead

Alfa Romeo Keeps Its Promise: The V-6 Engine Is Back

Source: Castagna Milano

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