The new August 2012 issue of CAR Magazine spills the beans on the new Alfa Romeo Giulia – the car which will replace the 159 and turn Alfa into a realistic executive contender, hopes Turin.
We’ve crafted three highly accurate computer renderings of the new Giulia, showing how Alfa will turn up the wick on the style of its new sports saloon. You’ll have to read the new August 2012 issue of CAR, out now, for the full eight-page scoop story – but consider this an appetite-whetter.
Alfa Romeo Giulia (2014): the scoop
Alfa has been threatening to bounce back for a while, but this time CEO Sergio Marchionne is serious about making Fiat’s upmarket division a viable alternative to the German executive establishment. Part of the reason the Giulia is so delayed is that Marchionne sent it back for fundamental revisions so it could credibly call itself a rival to Audi and BMW.
‘Historically, Alfa was known for three things: powertrain, looks and dynamics,’ he tells CAR. And the Giulia will focus on all three of those core values. It’ll be based on the Fiat Group’s front- and four-wheel drive ‘compact wide’ architecture, a platform derived from the Giulietta’s, powered by petrol and diesel engines stretching from 1.6 to 3.6 litres in capacity and bristling with technology.
The new Giulia is due in spring 2014 as a four-door first, as revealed in our artist’s impressions, but a five-door Sportwagon estate will follow soon after. And if our artist’s impressions are as accurate as we believe, it should be quite a looker.
Crisp styling lines dominate but a pleasing purity is being worked up at the Centro Style design studio in Italy. The Alfa shield grille dominates the front end and the stubby rear end is said to echo the ‘coda tronca’ of the 1960s racers.
Alfa Giulia: going to America
The new Giulia is part of a plan to return Alfa Romeo to the US, potentially its biggest market. Marchionne has already grown sales of the brand by 30% to around 130,000 thanks to the Mito and Giulietta models – but adding the Giulia and dealers in the US could realise the ultimate goal of 400,000 units per annum. It’ll be the first Alfa to be built in America, likely to be assembled alongside Chryslers.
The new August 2012 issue of CAR also features a candid interview with the Alfa and Fiat boss Marchionne, plus we reveal five other new Alfa Romeos in the pipeline.
Click here for a digital preview of the new issue of CAR Magazine and our Alfa special.