For car fans, the story of the concept cars that didn’t make it to production is an intriguing one, allowing a peek inside the creative and groundbreaking minds of an iconic Italian brand like Alfa Romeo. Designer Juan Manuel Diaz, who is perhaps best known for his work on the Alfa Romeo MiTo, has been sharing some abandoned sketches and concepts of various forgotten projects, illustrating what the styling team of the same company, in particular during major periods in the 2000s and 2010s, was thinking when exploring fresh new ways to reinterpret the brand’s heritage while adapting to certain auto industry trends.

Before the production cars the 4C, Giulia and Stelvio appeared there were countless other possibilities left on the cutting room floor. The five concepts behind the scenes: designing GM homologation versions of the 4C, a third world version of an Alfa-themed aircraft and reimagining heritage models like the Alfetta and 33 Petolata. None of which went to production, but all of which show how design vision, engineering principles, corporate values and commercial realities can come together to form the very DNA of Alfa Romeo. Oh and a concept car can be just as good as a production car.

1. The Mazda MX-5-Based Duetto Roadster

In 2013, at a time when Sergio Marchionne was at the helm of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Alfa Romeo announced a partnership with Mazda to develop a new roadster that would be based on Mazda’s lightweight MX-5 platform. This was intended to give new life to the Alfa Romeo Duetto and use Mazda’s successful MX-5 chassis engineering as a foundation. Interestingly enough, proposals for an Alfa Romeo roadster based on the Mazda platform had already been discussed in house with MDX’s style department in the early 2000s, shortly after Juan Manuel Diaz arrived at the design studios.

Key Details of the Proposed Duetto:

• Planned revival of the classic Duetto
• Based on the Mazda MX-5 platform
• Early ideas explored in the 2000s
• Collaboration announced publicly in 2013
• Production plans eventually changed direction

The Alfa Romeo version, despite the grand intention behind it, never made it to production. Business plans at Fiat changed and the development of the Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV took precedence in the company’s planning, as they focused on other models they perceived as more strategic to their broader global ambitions. The MX-5 platform was subsequently used by Fiat for the 124 Spider, a model that paid tribute to Fiat’s own roadster traditions, but this did not make a major splash in the wider world. A frustrating example of a potentially promising platform sharing deal unraveling.

2. The 8C Competizione-Based Duetto Concept

Prior to the Mazda agreement, Juan Manuel Diaz pursued a more exclusive interpretation of resurrecting the Duetto name. From 2003 to 2009, he worked in his spare time after hours producing dozens of sketches attempting to balance classic styling cues with modern proportions. The project finally advanced to a full 1:1 scale, physical prototype using the high-performance 8C Competizione as its basis. Such a plan would have created a far more costly and performance-oriented vehicle than a simple lightweight roadster built upon an economy car platform, but it is an idea that is more likely to be found under the Duetto name.

What Defined the 8C-Based Concept:

• Developed through personal design sketches
• Work continued between 2003 and 2009
• Full-size physical model was created
• Based on the 8C Competizione platform
• Intended as a premium roadster

The project has even more radical ideas about how a modern Duetto should look, and eschews typical “light and cheap” design and manufacturing for a high-performance Alfa sports car with 8C Competizione proportions and engineering character. Ultimately company management decided to go with the 8C Spider, and the Duetto concept was left on the shelf, while it’s not clear if the version Diaz envisioned would have kept the 8C’s naturally aspirated V8. Though an official production specification is not yet available, the scale model shows a serious homage to the killer looks of Alfa’s roadster past.

3. The Alfa Romeo Alfona Flagship Sedan

Of course, the Alfona project was ultimately not realized but the idea of a premium flagship wouldn’t go away in a hurry. In 2006 Wolfgang Egger who was head of Alfa Romeo’s styling department at the time called in a very young Juan Manuel Diaz to develop a set of initial design studies for what was called the Alfona; a modern interpretation of the Alfa Romeo Alfetta that would be produced in a less official capacity by the design team as a vision for a modern interpretation of the relevant Alfa Romeo flagship. The Alfona was not a heavily elongated Alfa Romeo, but an entirely different and more serious package, suited to challenging the German luxury carriers in the sector.

Main Features of the Alfona Proposal:

• Initial sketches created in 2006
• Requested by Wolfgang Egger
• Imagined as a modern Alfetta successor
• Based on Maserati Quattroporte architecture
• Envisioned with a powerful V8

The proposed size and performance profile of the Quattroporte was also used as the foundation for the Alfona, leading to a convincingly credible approach for a concept of this size and performance character. The implementation of a V8 motor was also likely, given the high-speed touring dynamic envisaged for the sedan, and the design of the exterior was intended to lead to a tone of differentiation from German competition. While the vehicle never seriously entered the prototype phase, its potential forewent the chance of the Alfa Romeo branch being able to explore another potential flagship vehicle.

4. The MiTo-Based Sporty Coupe SUV (Project 955)

The design studio had even given thought to a sporty crossover concept back in 2006, when the whole idea of a compact coupe-like SUV was far less prevalent than it is today. Conceptually designated as Project 955, the design was based on the MiTo platform and a lifted body with a sporty coupe-like look. Originally, the vehicle would go by the name of Milano (the design concept was presented with a convertible body style) but the trademark issues in relation to Italian law delayed the proposal’s internal names. It was a move to add the MiTo alternative to Alfa Romeo’s comprehensive choice of hatchback and sedan models.

Project 955 Design and Performance Ideas:

• Project originated in 2006
• Based on the MiTo platform
• Coupe-like body with raised ride height
• Initially associated with the Milano name
• Targeted approximately 250 horsepower

A second key feature of the proposed performance was central to the identity of Project 955. The design was to feature an enhanced powertrain, delivering roughly 185 kilowatts, or 250 horsepower, of power, imparting some real performance character to the small package. The higher ride height combined with the coupe-style shape was a prediction of a crossover vehicle that would become more popular across the auto world by the 2010s. Unfortunately, the project was never developed past the concept stage, and the combination of sporty shape and crossover utility remained just a design exercise, missing the chance for Alfa to make an early entry in the space.

5. The Zagato-Inspired 8C Competizione Redesign

Juan Manuel Diaz took a different view on the car’s dramatic proportions and Italian styling before sketching out a new body for the 8C Competizione. In creating a reinterpretation, Diaz shortened the car’s back end with a Kamm-style tail based on Zagato-bodied historic race cars, changing it from the original but keeping all of its visual impact. The most striking thing about the rendering is that it neatly integrates elements of motorsport history along with modern supercar performance and body styling in a beautiful package that was never intended to be.

Highlights of the Zagato-Inspired Redesign:

• Based on the Alfa Romeo 8C
• Shortened Kamm-style rear design
• Inspired by historic Zagato race cars
• Retained the Maserati-sourced V8
• Combined heritage with modern styling

The rest of the car’s reprofiled exterior aimed to retain the spirit of the original grand tourer, albeit with an understandably more focused design. Muscular haunches, neatly sculpted bodywork and the trademark Kamm tail would differentiate the concept from the standard 8C. At this stage the proposal still included the Maserati-sourced V8 within its suggested mechanical package, playing on the high-performance nature of its looks. But the management at Fiat decided not to give it the green light, citing that its niche design was not worth adding a version to its current model line up. Instead, the proposal existed only as a fetching design exercise.

6. The Alfa Romeo MiTo Convertible

Alfa Romeo MiTo Convertible Nearly Made Production In the Early 2010s The Alfa Romeo MiTo Convertible, based on the small MiTo hatchback, was a three-door convertible with a folding fabric roof and was almost a production model in the early 2010s. While this remains a styling exercise, the convertible was quite advanced and was reportedly close to approval in 2010. The goal was to create an open-air small car with the appeal of the special front end of the MiTo combined with the charming, modest size of the model, becoming an Italian convertible for city trips and weekends.

What the MiTo Convertible Offered:

• Based on the compact MiTo
• Three-door open-top body configuration
• Folding fabric soft-top roof
• Considered close to production approval
• Targeted style-conscious urban drivers

This new convertible would have introduced a more lifestyle oriented model to Alfa Romeo’s portfolio of vehicles and opened up the brand to a new group of customers who were after stand-out styling in a smaller and more affordable package. The fabric roof and teeny proportions meant that the new model could have aimed to take on larger and more costly open-top cars. In the end, however, the project was axed by Sergio Marchionne prior to the model’s introduction to the production line as the market was deemed to be too small to make the tooling costs worthwhile. Consequently, the MiTo Convertible never made it into production. All six of these cars demonstrate the breadth of Alfa Romeo’s design departments and the various paths they explored in the early 2000s and 2010s.