Have to say I'm liking it!
All roads lead to the Eternal City as Alfa will build its new four-door sedan on home soil. Get ready for a new Italian dish. After three years in the cold, Alfa's new four-door Giulia sedan is poised for launch here next year.
The car - a parts-bin exercise with input from Ferrari and Maserati - will be the first new-breed Alfa sedan since Fiat-Chrysler Automobile boss Sergio Marchionne shook up the brand, declaring earlier this year that he wanted it returned to its pre-Fiat sports roots.
Integral with Marchionne's new focus, all future Alfa Romeos will be rear-wheel or all-wheel drive, have a strong accent on performance, and be wholly made in Italy. "Alfa Romeos have to be produced in Italy with an Italian powertrain," Marchionne said at the Geneva motor show in March.
"Some things belong to a place, and Alfa belongs to Italy." The Giulia - a name resurfacing from the original 1962 sedan - is expected in Australia early in 2016. It is a successor to the front-wheel drive 159 and will be made as a sedan and wagon.
Its entry price could be under $45,000 based on predictions of a car equipped for the UK market, where it will be launched in late 2015. Fiat Chrysler Group director of communications in Australia Karla Leach says only that it's a car "we'd definitely take". She says no details of the car or its launch date have been released.
The Giulia was an on-off project since 2011. At one stage, Marchionne pulled the plug because he says the designers came up with a car style that looked "bland like a Lexus". The restyle creates a shape more aligned with the current Giulietta - a model ironically that may be ditched - and uses some frontal styling highlights of the 4C coupe.
More than a pretty shape, the Giulia will use drivetrains including some designed by Ferrari and shared with Maserati. The 3.0-litre V6 turbo, from the Maserati Ghibli, is likely to be the top-shelf power option.
The Giulia may also come with Alfa's 180kW 1750cc turbo four-cylinder - used in the Alfa 4C coupe and Spider - or a new 1.8-litre version with 221kW. European markets are also likely to get a turbo diesel.
Transmission options could include the 4C's dual-clutch gearbox but it's made ideally for a transverse design and its harsh gearshifts may be unsuitable for Alfa's desire for an up-market sedan. The Giulia may use a ZF auto, from the supplier of the Ghibli's eight-speeder.
Alfa is on record as saying the Giulia, and its big-sister Alfetta due in 2017, will aim to combine sports handling with sedan ride comfort.
Suspension design will include active-roll control that automatically adjusts springs and dampers through corners and over irregular road surfaces.
An additional active damping system would enable the driver to adjust the ride and handling balance.The Giulia is also expected to come standard with the switchable DNA program - already available on the MiTo and Giulietta - which changes steering weight and accelerator response. The sedan - and later a wagon - will be built at Fiat's Cassino factory near Rome. The engines will be trucked in from Fiat plants in southern and central Italy.
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