World debut: New Giulia heads Alfa Romeo rebirth

Alfa Romeo’s rebirth starts here. The Giulia may reprise a classic Alfa name, but that’s one of very few nods to the iconic brand’s past.

An all-new platform; new 380kW Ferrari-derived range-topping twin-turbo V6; crisp new styling; claims of class-leading steering and body rigidity; the potential for all-wheel drive and SUV variants -- Giulia is like no Alfa that’s gone before.

As revealed by images leaked yesterday, there’s even a new logo to define the new car – and the future for the brand.

The hype goes that Giulia is the handiwork of a dedicated team of designers, engineers and, ultimately, marketeers, hand-picked from Fiat Chrysler group’s best and brightest.

The 1000-strong team have been secreted in and around the group’s Turin headquarters – some for as long as five years.

Today’s reveal comes 105 years to the day since the establishment of the brand and also sees Alfa Romeo reopen its museum. The storied history provides context for the team charged with rebuilding the iconic Italian marque but, tasked with launching no less than eight new models between now and 2018; there’s little time to look backwards.

As the Guilia is unveiled in Arese on Milan’s north western outskirts, it’s not hard to imagine more than a few of the Alfisti insiders muttering the pilot’s prayer under their breaths. “Lord, please don’t let me f@%& up!”

To say the initial reception of the Giulia is important is a manifest understatement. The eventual first launch drives of the car will be perhaps the most anticipated critical reviews of the automotive decade.

FCA boss Sergio Marchionne famously re-engineered Alfa Romeo’s future at least twice in the lead up to today’s unveiling. A successful and profitable Alfa Romeo is a key component of Marchionne’s plan for FCA into the next decade. Giulia and the models with which it will share its mechanicals, technology and familial relationships cannot afford to fail.

Alfa Romeo is sharing only generalities about Giulia ahead of the unveiling. As this news story is being written hard numbers and statistics are thin on the ground.

What we do know is the platform that underpins Giulia will be the key component for the new generation of Alfa Romeos. It is ostensibly rear-drive with all-wheel drive an option.

Like Jaguar's equally important XE, it features double-wishbone front suspension and a longitudinal (north-south) front/mid-mounted engine orientation that contributes to 50:50 static weight distribution.

Referencing ‘perfect’ weight distribution, the pre-release documentation states “the engine and the mechanical parts are precisely arranged between the two axles” but in reality the mechanical layout is relatively conventional. Initial suggestions the car would use a transaxle are wrong.

One stat is out in the open, however… It’s claimed the range-topping 380kW V6-powered Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde (QV), which is pictured here and introduces the new face and styling of Alfa Romeo, accelerates to 100km/h in just 3.9 seconds. Look out BMW M3 and others.

Indeed, like Jaguar and its XE, Alfa has made it clear the Giulia will directly target BMW's 3 Series in terms of dynamics and pricing.

Like the 3 Series (and the XE, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Audi A4, a new version of which will also appear this year), the Giulia range will feature four and six-cylinder powertrains -- both petrol and turbo-diesel.

They will be matched with the next generation of the Fiat group’s twin-clutch gearboxes, but the Giulia QV revealed tonight was a conventional six-speed manual.

The interior of the butch QV on display was not revealed, but clearly on show on the top-shelf Giulia are bonnet and front quarter panel vents, diagonally-stacked twin outboard exhaust outlets within a vast black rear diffuser, and subtle carbon-fibre bootlid and front chin spoilers and side skirt inserts.

Carbon-ceramic brake discs are used -- most likely only for the highest performance (read: most expensive) versions -- and attention to detail even sees carbon-fibre used in structural components of the four-door’s seats.

Also at the top of the performance tree, Alfa will use smart torque vectoring and active aerodynamics to maximise chassis performance.

Light-weighting is a priority, says the PR blurb. The new car features “ample use of ultra-light materials, like carbon-fibre, aluminium, aluminium composite and plastic to obtain the best weight-to-power ratio,” Alfa trumpets.

That weight-to-power ratio is “remarkably lower than 3” says Alfa, implying a mass of less than 1530kg. The company says carbon-fibre was “chosen for the propeller shaft, the bonnet and the roof”, while aluminium is used for significant sections of the car’s structure and panels “such as the doors and the wings”.

“Despite all this weight optimisation, the car boasts the best torsional rigidity in its class to guarantee quality over time, acoustic comfort and handling even in conditions of extreme stress,” Alfa claims.

Alfa Romeo says the Giulia will have “the most direct steering on the market” in part a function of the double-wishbone front suspension. The design features a “semi-virtual steering axis” which Alfa says keeps a constant caster trail in corners to “optimise[s] the filtering effect and guarantee[s] rapid, accurate steering.”

Apart from the multi-link 'Alfalink' rear suspension, Alfa debuts a new electromechanical 'Integrated Brake System' in the Giulia' describing it as “an innovative electromechanical system which combines stability control and a traditional servo brake” to offer “instantaneous brake response and record-breaking stopping distances”.

More may be written on aspects of the relaunch of Alfa Romeo over the next few days but even Marchionne was big on rhetoric and light on facts at tonght's launch. Expect a drip feed of facts and figures and not a small number of promises over the next few months.

Right now we’re not even sure when the cars will arrive Down Under, but we understand right-hand drive production will not begin until the second half of 2016.

There’s no shortage of excitement at Alfa Romeo Australia, however. Ahead of today’s unveiling, unofficial countdown timers adorned more than a few desks. Given the publicity related to alleged financial improprieties of past CEO, Clyde Campbell, there’s no doubt a strong desire to focus on some positives.

New local Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Alfa Romeo Australia boss CEO Pat Dougherty is particularly upbeat about the brand’s future Down Under.

“This is, in my opinion, the most exciting moment in Alfa Romeo’s proud 105-year history. We don’t see this as the launch of a single car, rather this is the relaunch of one of the proudest, most iconic automotive brands in the world,” he told motoring.com.au.

“The Giulia will join the 4C and 4C Spider in writing a new chapter for Alfa Romeo in Australia.

“The fact that Giulia marks the onslaught of an entirely new range for the Alfa Romeo brand makes this moment in our history even more exciting,” he said.