The Alfa Romeo 8C returns: this is the one-off, V8 DoppiaCoda Zagato

Rules of Automotive #45: everything sounds better in Italian. The latest example is the stunning new DoppiaCoda, which in English means ‘double tail’. It’s a reference to Zagato’s famous rear detailing, represented here on a rebodied Alfa Romeo 8C.

An Alfa 8C! One of the prettiest cars to have ever graced our little blue planet! Zagato’s reasoning for ‘celebrating the 8C lineage’ – after 2023’s Giulia SWB – can be traced back to the bodies it built for the original 8C back in the 1930s.

This one’s been designed and built in-house by Zagato and Zagato alone, for a “visionary” Italian collector, and is “both a historical homage and a visionary concept”. The Milanese coachbuilder said it fuses two of its design codes: a Kamm-tail and rounded tail.

“We may have just started a new chapter in Zagato design,” said Andrea Zagato, “focused on researching tail sections and exploring new aerodynamic and stylistic solutions to spark innovation, just like coachbuilders always used to do.”

Chief designer Norihiko Harada apparently sketched out a line that flows from the front wheel arch towards the rear, and towards a new rear wing that “cuts off almost vertically”. It’s designed that way so the wing forms a ring, making it look like it’s set into the tail of the 8C.

“In this way, the wing is completely detached from the body, yet appears to be part of it from the side,” said Harada-san. “The coda tronca (Kamm-tail) is a design solution traditionally used in extreme, race-inspired sports cars,” he continued.

“But if applied directly to a high-class GT like the 8C, the tail would have felt visually heavy. That’s why this ‘wing tronca’ was developed specifically for this car.”

No word on powertrain upgrades, so the front-mounted 444bhp V8 likely remains. And while the V8 sounds good, and DoppiaCoda sounds better, jury’s out on if Zagato has made the Alfa 8C – a work of art, remember – better.