Price. U$ 94,377
ALFA IS BACK! YES, ONCE again the clichéd headline is being wheeled out as one of the best-loved automotive brands (Alfa’s words, not ours) has revealed its new Giulia sedan. This is the car
the company hopes will take the fight to BMW’s 3 Series, Mercedes’ C-Class, Audi’s A4 and Jaguar’s XE in the executive sedan sector.
Of more interest to evo readers will be the range-topping Quadrifoglio performance model, which will square up to the M3, C63, RS4 and forthcoming XE R in the performance sedan arena.
Crucially the Giulia will aim to steer the company onto a path of growth and success that will yield
seven new models over the next three years and see a five-fold sales increase from 2013’s 74,000 cars sold to a target of 400,000 in 2018.
The new Alfa Romeo Giulia has been developed by what Alfa calls a ‘skunkworks’ of the best engineers, designers and stylists within parent group FCA. Its efforts have resulted in a new reardrive platform (all-wheel drive will also be offered) and a to-be-declared range of regular turbocharged petrol and diesel engines.
Top-spec Quadrifoglio models will boast a AMG C63 S-rivalling 375kW from a turbocharged V6. Made entirely from aluminium, as all the Giulia engines will be, this power plant has been developed by engineers with a ‘Ferrari background’ and is claimed to accelerate the Giulia to 100km/h in 3.9sec – 0.4sec quicker than a manual M3. Drive will go to all four wheels (or solely to the rear axle) via
a standard six-speed manual gearbox.
The Giulia’s wheelbase will be the longest in its class, which means it will outstretch the 2840mm C-Class, but with a design that features short overhangs, a long bonnet and some muscle injected into the arches, Alfa’s new C-segment sedan should be the most athletic looking car in its class.
That long wheelbase should also provide the Giulia with a blend of stability and comfort, and there’s also an active aero-splitter at the front that is governed by ‘Chassis Domain Control’ electronics.
Under the Giulia’s skin will be double wishbones at the front and an ‘Alfalink’ multi-link suspension
system at the rear, with electronically controlled active dampers at each corner.
Alfa has also developed a ‘semi-virtual’ steering axis designed to maximise steering accuracy and
speed, and while Alfa’s engineering chief, Philippe Krief, wouldn’t talk specifics, we hear it will be on a par with the sharp-steering Ferrari 458. The Giulia will also be offered with torque-vectoring and will be the first Alfa Romeo to feature the company’s new switchable ‘DNA’ chassis control, which features Advanced Efficiency, Natural, Dynamic and Race settings.
Drivers will be able to switch off the car’s ESC system completely. With claims of best-in-class torsional rigidity and the promise of a ‘unique, uncompromising driving performance’, Alfa is being incredibly bullish with its claims. It wasn’t, however, all that forthcoming with the details during
the car’s reveal at the company’s recently renovated museum in Milan last month.
Nonetheless, from the figures we were handed, we’ve estimated the 3.0-litre V6 turbo Quadrifoglio will tip the scales at around 1500kg (a manual M3 weighs 1520kg), thanks to the use of aluminium for the suspension components and carbonfibre for some of the external body panels (and even the seat frames), as well as mechanical components such as the prop shaft. The Quadrifoglio will also be fitted with carbon-ceramic brakes. Inside, the Giulia will feature a driver-focused cockpit with, according to Alfa, the main controls grouped together on the steering wheel, as you’d see on an F1 car.
Expect more of a Ferrari road carstyle layout. We would have liked to show you a picture of the interior, but Alfa has yet to release one. There’s no getting away from the importance of the new platform and the Giulia model that will debut it. Harald Wester, Alfa Romeo’s CEO, feels cars in the premium market have become interchangeable and replaceable.
‘‘They look alike and are moreor- less the same,” he says. ‘‘With Alfa Romeo, you should feel the
difference. Alfa Romeo must be an extension of the driver’s soul.” This is not a statement we would
disagree with, but it is one which Alfa Romeo will need to deliver on.
Sergio Marchionne, Fiat Group’s overlord, has secured five billion euros-worth of investment to build the Giulia and the other half-dozen models Alfa is talking about, but to capitalise on this and see the results, every claim needs to be backed up with an uncompromising product.
On paper the Giulia certainly looks like it has the right credentials, but on the road it will come up against an establishment that has spent decades evolving and competing on a level that doesn’t suffer fools. The 375kW Giulia Quadrifoglio appeals to the heart of evo; we just hope Alfa will do
enough to convince our brains that it’s the new class leader.
Drive Train
The Giulia is based on an all-new platform, with Alfa Romeo developing both rear- and all-wheel-drive drivetrains. Torquevectoring will also feature.
Aero
There’s an active front splitter for the Quadrifoglio model, which actively manages downforce via the car’s Chassis Domain Control
Wheel base
Claimed to be the longest in its class, the Giulia has turned to aluminium and carbon fibre to keep the
weight down. The new car also has short overhangs.
Chassis
Aluminium brake calipers and carbon-ceramic discs will be offered and all models will be fitted with aluminium suspension components. Steering is said to be ‘Ferrari-quick’.
Body
The Giulia will feature a carbon roof and bonnet, with aluminium used for the wings and doors, but not at the expense of torsional rigidity, claims Alfa.
Engines
3000 litre V6, twin-turbo a range of new aluminium four- and six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines – all turbocharged – will be offered, along with a six-speed manual and an automatic gearbox.
Power, 375kW, Torque 675Nm (est), 0-100km/h 3.9sec (claimed), Top speed 250km/h (est)
Weight 1500kg (250kW/tonne)
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