Castagna Vittoria

Though you may think that my taste in cars is on the “batshit insane” side of the road, I don't actually often feature cars that I do like, partly because a lot of what I actually like in a car isn’t all that weird.

And, partly because I tend to get too emotionally invested in defending my choice of motor vee-hicle.

Truth be told, I thought I’d already written about this car, and indeed I did…in 2015.

Back then, I was able to source one image for the story — and it took until 2023 for the Vittoria to show up at auction with a small trove of photos. 

The Vittoria has even been captured on a vertical video, surely a strong sign that a true unicorn car has made it in this day and age…

Admittedly, I am a bit jealous, as the Castagna Vittoria really is somewhere around 90 in my list of 100 cars that I would really like to drive and live with someday. (Mainly for its top-shelf interior, more on that in a minute.) 

The Vittoria is based on the equally unlovable-yet-darling Alfa Romeo 75 sedan, with the then-reborn Castagna using its more swoopy take on the car in order to drum up sales for its coachbuilding business. It debuted at the 1995 Geneva Motor Show to little admiration.

To me, the Vittoria always looked like the next SZ, and 30 years later, even Alfa Romeo is rumoured to be coming around (CarBuzz) to a frameless crest and headlights defined by the forward edge of its hood with its next-generation Stelvio crossover.

Without a body-coloured lower “jaw”, the Vittoria looks both odd and, to my eyes, oddly familiar these days as minimal, carbon-heavy hypercars have also adopted an open-toothed look, if you can call it that.

Out back, a recessed (mostly) hidden light bar sits above more carbon trim.

It's as if Castagna draped a white sheet over the car and didn't quite pull it taught. Once inside, I invite you to gather your thoughts on an airplane cockpit-like shape and visibility, given its giant clear roof panel. 

Then, as a reward for actually getting into the car, a minimal yet extensively re-trimmed interior that mixes off-the-shelf Alfa Romeo parts with deep moss green (what looks like Alcantara) material and a very aftermarket MOMO steering wheel seemingly ripped off a 1994 Honda Prelude parked in Long Beach, CA.

No matter: under its ill-fitting hood, the Vittoria’s pilot would get the same 3.0-litre V6 from the 75 but upgraded over stock, with — a dyno verified — 254 horsepower (@ 5,740 rpm) to play with.