Official: Alfa Romeo Giulietta revealed
Venerable nameplate to be rekindled on all-new 147 replacement, which debuts at March's Geneva motor showFollowing a series of premature leaks (more here and here), Alfa Romeo has finally released the first official images of its all-new 147 hatchback replacement.
Although the company initially planned to badge the car as the "Milano", that is no longer the case as Alfa Romeo has relocated its HQ from Milan to Turin, and it's believed workers in the marque's former home city were unhappy with the decision.
Consequently, the new car will be known as the Giulietta, rekindling a nameplate that dates back to 1954, and which was last applied to the stumpy-tailed sedan produced from 1977 to 1985 (after which it was replaced by the 75 sedan).
Alfa Romeo's top brass has high hopes of the new-age Giulietta, as they believe it will go on to become the brand's best-selling model range to date, recording up to 100,000 sales annually.
As previously reported, the car will be offered solely in five-door form, leaving the entry-level MiTo to snare three-door shoppers.
The Giulietta will launch in Italy in March, and it will also feature at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June, where Alfa Romeo will be the featured marque as part of the brand's centenary celebrations.
Visually, the Giulietta shares many of its styling cues with the MiTo and 8C Competizione, but it carries over the concealed rear door handles from the 147. The new dash layout retains the trademark Alfa twin-binnacle theme, but the centre console layout is much cleaner in execution.
The Giulietta spans 4.35mm from bumper to bumper, which means it's about 130mm longer than the 147, and its wheelbase is 50mm longer. The heavily tapered roofline also helps disguise the fact that it's 50mm higher than the 147.
European buyers will be able to choose from an array of turbocharged petrol and diesel engines, ranging from a 90kW 1.4-litre petrol unit to a 127kW 2.0-litre oiler. A go-faster Cloverleaf model with 172kW will join the line-up later on.
Transmission choices will include five and six-speed manual gearboxes, and Fiat is known to be working on a dual-clutch sequential 'box to match Volkswagen's excellent DSG.
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