MILAN -- Alfa Romeo has continued the tradition of providing police cars to the Italian authorities by beginning the handover of 1,770 Giulia sedans to the country's Carabinieri police.
The first model from the fleet was delivered during a ceremony at the Turin Alfa Romeo headquarters attended by Stellantis Chairman John Elkann and Alfa Romeo brand head Jean-Philippe Imparato.
The Italian sports-car brand, now part of the Stellantis Group, has well established links to Italy's Carabinieri and Polizia police units. Both used the original 1960s Giulia as their main service car.
Over the following 50 years the Carabinieri have used most Alfa Romeo sport sedans, including the Alfetta, the 155, 156 and the 159 models, and the Giulia Quadrifoglio.
The Polizia police unit already has also a number of Alfa Romeo cars in its fleet, most of which are Alfa 159 models, the predecessor of the current Giulia.
The unit received two Giulia models in 2016, shortly after the car's launch.
The Giulia midsize sedan is currently one of two models in the Alfa Romeo range, together with the Stelvio midsize SUV.
The special edition Giulia model for the Carabinieri features a 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine with 197 hp and an 8-speed automatic gearbox. It has a number of special features such as armored glass and doors and an anti-blast fuel tank. According to the company release, the cars will be used for patrolling by local Carabinieri stations.
The Giulia fleet will be delivered over the next 12 months.
The size of the deal is significant compared to Giulia's overall sales. Through March, European sales of the Giulia fell 32 percent to 1,246 models, according to data from JATO Dynamics.
The sedan fared better in the U.S. market, where first-quarter sales were up 17 percent to 2,065, according to the Automotive News Data Center.
EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story misstated the Giulia's body type.
