Alfa Romeo has announced its Giulia sports sedan will arrive in Australia in February 2017. It’s a true sports model, with rear-wheel-drive giving it 50/50 weight distribution.
It will be sold in four trim levels: Giulia, Giulia Super, Giulia Veloce and Giulia Quadrifoglio.
The hot Quadrifoglio is the star of the range, jumping from zero to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds. It also holds the current Nurburgring production sedan lap record at just 7 minutes and 32 seconds.
Quadrifoglio is Italian for four-leaf clover and has been the symbol for Alfa racing cars for close to 100 years. In modern times Quadrifoglio indicates high-performance road cars. The new Giulia Quadrifoglio will compete with the high-performance models from Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Lexus and Mercedes. At this stage it has to be said Alfa Romeo is fighting above its weight in the prestige high-performance stakes, but the company obviously intends to do its best to change that. Let’s see what the future brings…
The entry level Giulia is powered by a turbo-petrol 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine producing 147kW. Torque of 330 Nm is there all the way from 1750 to 4000 revs. Even this model is pretty quick – rest to 100km/h in just 6.6 seconds.
Alfa Romeo Giulia is no cost-cutting stripper; it sits on 18-inch alloy wheels, has leather trim, cruise control, satellite navigation, dual-zone climate control, bi-xenon headlamps, keyless entry and start, automatic wipers, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera.
The Giulia Super, is offered with the same turbo-petrol engine, or a new-generation 2.2-litre, four-cylinder turbo-diesel with 132 kW, and 450Nm from 1750 to 3750 rpm). Over the Giulia gear it has a higher grade of leather which is also incorporated in the dash and doors in a very Italian way, an eight-way powered driver’s seat, a heated steering wheel, and active cruise control.
Now we’re really getting up in the range; Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce, has a tuned version of the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, with 206kW and 400 Nm that take it to 100 km/h in 5.8 seconds. The Veloce has the Alfa SDC adjustable suspension, limited-slip rear differential, 19-inch alloys and an uprated braking package with the calipers finished in red.
Inside, Alfa Veloce has aluminium dash inserts, aluminium faced pedals, sports leather seats and steering wheel, and a premium sound system.
Which brings us back to the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio with its Ferrari-inspired 375 kW (500 horsepower) twin-turbo V6 engine. After getting to the 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds that we have mentioned, it gets to a top speed beyond 300km/h.
The Giulia Quadrifoglio has a full body kit and sits on19-inch forged alloy wheels. It has bi-xenon headlamps with Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFLS) and automatic high/low beam.
Inside, the leather-wrapped surfaces feature contrasting stitching and are set off by aluminium and carbon-fibre highlights. There’s a Harmon Kardon 14-speaker sound system and a bespoke 8.8-inch multimedia screen housing the entertainment system.
Satellite navigation and climate controls operate through a centrally mounted rotary dial.
The front sports seats are have serious bolsters to help occupants slippin’ and slidin’ when the seriously high cornering forces are called up.
Standard safety features includes Forward Collision Warning (FCW) with Autonomous Emergency Brake (AEB) and pedestrian recognition, Integrated Brake System (IBS), and Lane Departure Warning (LDW).
It’s no surprise that the all-new Alfa Romeo Giulia has a five-star EuroNCAP rating, with 98 per cent protection result for adult occupants, the highest score ever achieved by any car to date.
The all-new Alfa Romeo Giulia range will go on sale in Australia in February 2017. Full specifications and pricing will be announced closer to launch.
