Forza Alfa Romeo: Design leads the charge

When Klaus Busse enters the room, people take notice.

It's not just the German car designer's striking apparel or penetrating gaze that attraction attention - it's his height. Fair dinkum, he could've been a basketballer in another life.

As he freely admits, however, being tall is a blessing and a curse. There are some cars he simply cannot comfortably fit inside.

Unsurprisingly, the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV is not one of them.

During an intriguing interview with the man in charge of designing Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Italian-branded cars - think Fiat, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Maserati - Busse explains that the design of the Giulia QV was inspired by familiar, muscular shapes.

"The human brain is attracted to human shapes," he says, explaining how that reality is one of the guiding principles of the award-winning car's design.

Busse spent a decade in the USA, working initially for Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler, then the Chrysler Group, before returning to Europe to oversee the Italian brand's design studio, or centro stile, at Turin in northern Italy.

Much of centro stile is off limits to nosy journalists, with some car designs scheduled for release in the mid-2020s already done and dusted. We saw the doors behind which these next-generation vehicles exist, but getting through them would have required the stealthy skills of a Ninjitsu master.

Nevertheless, Busse admits the new Giorgio platform that underpins the modern-day Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV - and upcoming new-generation vehicles - gives his team more scope to sculpt compelling car designs.

Indeed, Alfa Romeo has never been a brand to develop dull cars and the German-born designer is acutely aware of this. The Italians have always had a flair for style and there's a certain bravura about Italian design.

You can see it in fashion, furniture, architecture and cars and it provides a point of difference.

As he walks around the twin-turbo V6-powered Giulia QV, explaining the motives behind the various design elements, he argues that Italian designs must be "sensual".

"It shows what the team has done in honouring our heritage," he says of the Giulia's design.

"We're in Italy, it's the land of Michelangelo, of Leonardo da Vinci, the land of sculpture and that's something we've been trying to successfully translate in this vehicle."

Alfa Romeo can lay claim to several timeless designs from the recent past, including the iconic 8C and 4C sports cars. Vehicles such as the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale of the late 1960s and Disco Volante of 1952 - aka the Flying Saucer - also play a part in shaping the future language of the brand.

Speaking of which, Busse has already signed off several car designs that are still yet to see the light of day. You know, the ones in the off-limits areas of centro stile?

So I had to know, what shape will the next big thing for Alfa Romeo take: Perhaps a new V6 turbo coupe rekindling the Stradale 33's magic?

"I would love to tell you, but only if you can offer me a job because if I do I'll lose my current one!" laughs Busse.

"So I'd rather keep it a secret but if you like this," he says of the new Giulia QV, "you'll [soon] see what we have in the future."

Given the design direction the Stelvio and Giulia have taken, I reckon the wait will be worth it.