Brian Leon Real carbon fiber accents line the cabin and exterior trim, adoring the center console, steering wheel, the entire rear of the front seats, and a classy decklid spoiler. The 2017 Giulia sedan, however, is meant to be different.
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Alfa Romeo did it at the Frankfurt Motor Show and they are doing it at the LA Auto Show again.
Thirty global debuts, including the new Hyundai Elantra, Jaguar’s first luxury sport utility vehicle and the Infiniti QX30 crossover, will be among highlighted vehicles at the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show. The sporty sedan is due in showrooms next summer. While German cars in this segment are all quite safe and refined, the Giulia is pure excitement and emotion.
Powered by a 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V-6, the Quadrifoglio puts out a whopping 505-hp and 443 lb.-ft. of torque, by far the most in its class and encroaching on supercar territory. Rear-wheel drive will be standard on all models but an advanced all-wheel-drive system with torque vectoring will be available. Inside, Giulia’s high level of craftsmanship starts with an asymmetric-styled instrument panel, featuring a driver-focused cockpit.
The four leaf clover on Sivocci’s vehicle was encased in a square box, while all future clovers were encased in a triangle, with the missing point symbolizing the loss of Ugo Sivocci. “It’s medium on “volume” sedans – we saw the Elantra, Sentra and LaCrosse – and it’s more hot on performance cars, while the SUV category has been super-hot with a lot of introductions”. Alfa is calling this the Giorgio architecture and plans to use it throughout their rear-wheel drive lineup. Carbon ceramic brakes and carbon fiber front seats from Sparco are also available. The result is about 7 pounds per horse (3 kg to 0.75 kW) and a near 50/50 weight distribution in the vehicle. Quadrifoglio buyers will have three optional wheel designs to choose from. Brakes will be from Brembo and will be four-pistons all the way around on cast-iron rotors.
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But can this auto really be the saviour for Alfa Romeo?
