Alfa unveils high-performance Giulia

TURIN – The Alfa Romeo Giulia’s most sporty version will offer more power than rival models from BMW and Mercedes-Benz because it will use Maserati's Ferrari-derived 510-hp V-6 engine.

Dubbed the Giulia Quadrifoglio, the car was unveiled Wednesday at the Alfa Romeo museum in Arese, Italy, outside Milan. It will be the first Giulia variant to go on sale as Alfa emphasizes performance in a bid to gain an edge over its German premium rivals.

The Giulia “embodies the core elements which have made Alfa Romeo one of the world's best-loved automotive brands -- distinctive Italian design; innovative powertrains, perfect weight distribution, unique technical solutions and the best weight-to-power ratio," Alfa Romeo said in a statement.

The Giulia Quadrifoglio (cloverleaf in Italian) is powered by twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter engine used in the Maserati Quattroporte and Ghibli sedans.

The Giulia Quadrifoglio delivers 85 hp more power than the BMW M3 (425 hp), which also is powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter engine.

The hottest variant of the Mercedes-Benz C class, called AMG C63 S, has the same power as its Alfa rival but uses a much larger engine: a twin-turbocharged 4.0 liter V-8.

The C class with an engine comparable in size to the Giulia Quadrifoglio's is the C-450 AMG, which has a 3.0-liter V-6 turbocharged engine that delivers 367 hp.

Audi does not offer a direct competitor to the Giulia Quadrifoglio at the moment.

The Giulia Quadrifoglio has the fastest acceleration in its class. The car goes 0 to 100kph (62mph) in 3.9 seconds, compared with the BMW M3’s 4.1 seconds and 4 seconds for the Mercedes AMG C63 S.

The Alfa will be offered only with rear-wheel drive and a manual transmission. A carbon fiber hood and roof help reduce weight to about 1,500kg.

The Giulia Quadrifoglio will go on sale in Europe early next year and in the U.S. a few months later. Other Giulia versions will follow later including all-wheel-drive models and diesels for Europe.

The sedan is the first model in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ 5 billion euro relaunch plan for Alfa that aims to increase the money-losing brand's annual global sales to 400,000 by 2018 from 70,000 last year.

U.S. challenge

“The Giulia will undoubtedly help Alfa significantly. The challenge is most significant in the U.S. market where the brand has almost no existing image in the eyes of U.S. consumers and no exclusive retail network,” market researchers at IHS Automotive said ahead of the launch event. IHS forecasts annual sales in the mid-40,000s for the Giulia once it is available in all its markets.

The Giulia launch will be followed by Alfa's first SUV early in 2017 and a full-sized sedan in late 2017 as FCA broadens Alfa’s lineup beyond the Giulia compact, Mito subcompact and and the limited-run 4c sports car.

An Alfa Skunkworks of engineers, designers and stylists has developed a new rear-wheel-/all-wheel-drive platform called Giorgio for the models.

Alfa touts technical innovations such as a double-clutch Torque Vectoring system that allows the rear differential to control the torque delivery to each wheel independently, improving traction in low grip conditions without having to run up against an invasive stability control system.

An electromechanical brake system combines stability control and a traditional servo brake for instantaneous brake response and what Alfa says are record-breaking stopping distances.

The Giulia also has a new Alfa system to modify the car's dynamic behavior according to the driver's selection: Dynamic, Natural, Advanced Efficient (a new energy-efficiency mode) and Racing for high performance versions.