Alfa Romeo Giulia 2017 News

Alfa Romeo has lobbed its Giulia premium mid-size contender into the German dominated segment, with the four-variant range kicking off from $59,895 before on road costs.

Alfa Romeo’s range-topping Giulia QV will pack a 375kW/600Nm punch.

A bigger, bolder, more brash Alfa Romeo is gunning for its prestige rivals with its all-new Giulia sedan.

The new Giulia sedan is arguably the most important car in the history of Alfa Romeo.While the slinky 4C sports car was responsible for returning the Italian brand to its sports car roots after it sunk itself into also-ran oblivion, this new Giulia sedan looks to bring the sporty new Alfa Romeo into the mainstream. The Giulia is a small premium sedan which is set to rival the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C-Class, Audi A4 and Lexus IS, along with the upcoming Jaguar XE.Alfa has attempted to compete with those cars before but with only a small development budget and Fiat-based front-drive underpinnings to play with.RELATED: 2016 Alfa Romeo Giulia revealedThe new Giulia is a much more ambitious beast, packing lightweight platform with rear and all-wheel drive and a Ferrari-developed engine.It’s the first step in an aggressive $8 billion strategy that Alfa hopes will see production rise from less than 68,000 units in 2014 to over 400,000 by 2018 with eight all-new models.It’s a strategy that’s delivered an aggressive-looking car too, with the Giulia featuring piercing headlights, a big angry snout and a tough stance.The basic shape isn’t overtly angry, preferring softer round shapes over taut and sharp ones but once you add the big wheels, aero addenda and quad exhaust tips of the Quadrifoglio (QV) performance version it starts to look suitably menacing.The interior is also very driver-focused and bathed in leather, Alcantara and carbon fibre.It’s dominated by a large central display which is operated by a new BMW iDrive-style controller, while the familiar ‘DNA’ switch toggles between the various drive modes. For now Alfa Romeo has only confirmed the range-topping Giulia QV aimed at the BMW M3 and Mercedes C63 AMG but softer versions are coming. Boasting a 380kW turbocharged six-cylinder mill developed with help from Ferrari, the performance model can sprint from 0-100km/h in just 3.9 seconds – quicker than both the Germans.Alfa promises it’ll be a return to form in the handling department too, claiming a perfect 50:50 weight distribution helped by the use of lightweight materials including carbon fibre.The prop shaft, roof and bonnet are all made from carbon, while the doors and fenders are aluminium.There’s no official weight figure yet, but the QV is expected to tip the scales at around 1500kg.Boasting a 380kW turbocharged six-cylinder developed with Ferrari, the Giulia QV can sprint from 0-100km/h in just 3.9 seconds.At the front the Giulia adopts a aluminium double wishbones with what Alfa calls a ‘semi-virtual steering axis’ to give an ultra-pointy nose.By also gearing the steering to be quicker than any other car in this segment, it seems the engineers want to give the car a sensitive and alert feeling like the current range of Ferrari supercars.The rear suspension is by a multi-link arrangement, similar to most other small sports sedans.Like the rear-drive German super sedans, the Giulia QV also employs a torque-vectoring active rear differential to give the best possible on-limit handling balance.Active aerodynamics are also part of the package, including a small splitter which automatically deploys when the Chassis Demand Control system senses it’s required.The rear of the car also features a big lower diffuser that looks like it’s been snatched form the Ferrari parts bin, which seems entirely possible given the Giulia QV was developed by a team of ‘skunkworks’ engineers.The first pre-production cars have already begun rolling down the assembly line, but right-hand drive customer cars won’t be ready until late 2016. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Australia CEO Pat Dougherty confirmed today that the new Alfa Romeo Giulia will be coming to Australia. 

The top selling cars of Audi, BMW and Mercedes are described as "cold, technological, boring products with zero emotion" in Italy today by the man who is leading the - latest - rebirth of the historic Italian brand."Premium cars today are cells designed to separate you from the world and the road. Premiumness has become another product. A sea of indifference," says Harald Wester, CEO of Alfa Romeo. The Giulia flagship has a twin-turbo V6 engine and rear or all-wheel drive"The new Alfa Romeos put the driver back at the centre. It's never just a machine. It must be an extension of a driver's soul."The Giulia looks good and has impressive numbers, headlining an $8 billion investment program that will create eight all-new products with the objective of lifting global sales from less than 68,000 in 2014 to more than 400,000 by 2018.There is little fine detail beyond a preview of the Giulia flagship, which has a twin-turbo V6 engine and rear or all-wheel drive to tackle the BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C63 performance sedans.But the Giulia is totally upstaged at its unveiling at the Arese headquarters of Alfa Romeo by a true Italian icon, opera singer Andrea Bocelli.The blind superstar gets a standing ovation as he performs Nessun Dorma from Turandot while the Giulia is driven on stage behind him, but he shows his own feeling about cars in one sentence."I used to listen every day for the sound of my father's car coming home," he tells an audience of more than 500 hardened motoring commentators.Right-hand drive cars will not be ready for Australia until the third quarter of 2016He is followed by the man who provided the drive and the cash for the Alfa comeback plan, Fiat Chrysler Automobile boss Sergio Marchionne."It's no mystery that Alfa is one of the projects that I have been most involved in. It's been crying out for revenge. Giving voice to the real Alfa Romeo was a moral imperative," Marchionne says.Trial production of the Giulia has already begun but right-hand drive cars will not be ready for Australia until the third quarter of 2016 and there is no confirmation yet of any models below the QV flagship.The Giulia was created from scratch in only two years, using a 'Skunkworks' program similar to the Lockheed-Martin jet fighter project in the USA in the 1940s. It's a four-door sedan that's promised to drive like a sports car, with benchmark quality for an Italian car, and even a new Alfa Romeo badge that's been updated for the 21st century."The brand is on the verge of re-taking its rightful position in the market. It will once again be one of the leading symbols of Italian engineering and style," says Marchionne.

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.

This is how Carparazzi sees the planned Giulia station wagon, with a predictable combination of mpracticality and Italian style.This journalist is on Twitter: @paulwardgover