By the time 159 had its production ceased, the Fiat Group was initiating its merger with Chrysler. Since that was its top priority, car releases were kept to a minimum. On the other hand, when that process was finished, the automaker found itself in a huge need to update its products, not only to catch up with the competitors but also to become better than them. Such context forced the now-called FCA to work harder than ever. Given that Alfa Romeo was assigned to create its European representative in the aforementioned category (the North-American side brings you Chrysler 300), it was suddenly facing a rather bitter situation: it had to develop an extremely competitive product, and it had to be done as fast as possible.
Now, going from that to saying the new Giulia was conceived in only two years is quite a leap, right? Such feat was achieved by freeing a group of Alfa engineers to work exclusively with the new car. In order to respect the tradition of this segment, it uses a rear-wheel drive platform, derived from Maserati Ghibli’s and with optional AWD. When it comes to Alfa’s traditions, Giulia’s biggest sales argument will be the dynamic behavior. There are 50:50 weight distribution, torque-vectoring system, driving modes, active airflow systems, and even an engine option developed with Ferrari, everything to make the perfect opposition to the German style. Alfa even sprung for carbon fiber, used in several structural components along with aluminum.
However, while the car still waits for its in-the-metal debut, Giulia can only delight the public with its design. And what a design! The front fascia carries Alfa’s cuore sportivo in a big iteration, sitting between sleek headlights and two grilles which are only that large in the sporty Quadrifoglio version. The long hood uses two small vents and the same muscular theme that appears on the sides: the sportiness comes from the sheetmetal, rather than chrome inserts or oversized accessories. The attractive roofline didn’t make room for third windows, while the doors are marked by the air outlet. And the rear is short and tall, typically Italian. The lights are triangular, the trunk lid is very well-sculpted, and the bumper is quite imponent.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much more official information left. The sedan was showed only the aforementioned, high-performance trim level, which implies using the engine co-developed with Ferrari: an all-aluminum, twin-turbo V6 that delivers 503 hp and takes the car to 62 mph in 3.9 seconds. Regular versions, on the other hand, are expected to use four-cylinder, single-turbo units, whether burning diesel or gasoline. As far as the cabin is concerned, there are only unofficial photos available so far. The all-new Giulia will go on sale in next year’s second trimester, and will be joined by other body variations afterwards – probably a station wagon and Alfa’s very first crossover. This article will be updated when the company releases more information about the car.