Automotive Trends

The Alfa Romeo Giulia is a sight to behold. In full Quadrifoglio hot-rod trim it is pent up anger from every direction as if it’s been impatiently scolded to sit still when all it wants to do is go outside and bounce off the walls, or track curbing in this case. The sedan is a tight package with tidy overhangs and sexy wheels hiding massive carbon ceramic brakes. The hood hides a highly tuned 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 spitting out 505 hp and a plateau of 443 lb-ft of torque starting at 2,500 rpm. The 6-speed manual–yes, you read that right–is standard equipment and 60 mph is history in 3.8 seconds. This car is serious. So serious that it set the production sedan track record at the Nurburgring with a 7:39. Top speed is 191 mph. Inside a set of serious bucket seats do their best to hold you in place and alcantara trim on the wheel and seats is a nice touch. With a near 50/50 weight balance that Giulia should be a responsive handler. It doesn’t go on sale until later this year but it should prove that after the 8C and 4C sports cars, Alfa remains serious about performance in America.

It was a little surreal to be watching a full blown Alfa Romeo press conference at the North American International Auto Show, but there we were bearing witness to the storied manufacturer’s American return. And amid all the history and beautiful old race cars was the realization that the brand is starting off with a bang thanks to the stunning 4C coupe and now Spider. The Spider shares the same 1.75-liter turbo four with 237 hp sent through a 6-speed dual clutch paddle shifted transmission to the rear wheels. Alfa was proud to announce that the curb weight remains about 2,500 pounds providing a significant savings compared to rivals from Audi, Porsche and BMW. As for pricing, we’d expect a starting point in the mid-$60k range.