FEBRUARY 2017 GQ.COM.AU 79Giulia, including a $7bn development budget
and a skunkwork of engineers poached from
Ferrari and Maserati.
This new model is a rear-drive premium
sedan that will attempt to challenge the
industry’s popular competitors like the
Mercedes C-Class, Audi’s A4 and even
BMW’s brutal M3. Thankfully, the signs
are promising. Its design is far more
muscular and overt than anything out of
Germany, and it comes in an enticing range
of lightweight engines, including the 150kW
2.0-litre turbocharged petrol unit, 2.2-litre
turbodiesel and the Quadrifoglio, powered
by a 380kW and 600Nm bi-turbo V6.
The engine note and exhaust bark are
strident and loud, and the Quadrifoglio
is supremely fast – mind-bogglingly fast,
in fact, sprinting to 100km/h in just 3.9
seconds. That’s a 10th faster than BMW’s
M3 or the Mercedes-A MG C 63 – with
the Giulia also reportedly within whiskers
of the old Ferrari 458 Italia around the
legendary Nurburgring.
The ride, handling, steering and
eight-speed gearbox are also rated highly,
with a sense that some of Italy’s best minds
have been tinkering away in the background.
Inside, the cabin features strong leather,
carbon fibre and metal accents. It’s arestrained and quite German feeling – even if
the usual tech doesn’t hit German standards.
The Alfa badge brings with it a lot of love
and it’s clear that the Giulia is going to be
a very competitive car – especially given the
pricing. While Alfa Romeo’s Australian arm
is being secretive about such, you can bet
they’ll aim to slightly undercut the Germans
at every point, which means around $60,000
at the entry level, and somewhere under
$140,000 for the Quadrifoglio.
If it doesn’t sell, it might be the end of the
bromance with Alfa Romeo, though all the
evidence suggests this will have the marque
speeding back into desirability.