Petrolheads rejoice! New Alfa Romeo Giulia might not be EV-only
The next Alfa Romeo Giulia was set to ditch ICE for electric power, but a softening market may see a dramatic U-turn
The all-new Alfa Romeo Giulia saloon may now be offered with petrol engines as well as electric power – signalling a possible dramatic U-turn for the maker’s range of large family cars.
Ex-Alfa boss and recently-appointed Stellantis Europe CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato told Auto Express: “As we are blind in terms of changes in regulation, my only answer is that I have the means to adapt.
“We will assess where we are,” he told us. “If the current global ecosystem does not change, [Giulia] will be 100 per cent electric. If I see it is changing, or that I’m not matching what I want, it is not a problem to adjust with alternative powertrains.”
Alfa Romeo had been finalising its plan to become a fully-electric car company by 2027, and while it isn’t turning its back on EVs, the Giulia and closely-related Stelvio SUV may follow in the footsteps of the smaller Junior crossover by being offered with a range of powertrains in time. Both the Giulia and Stelvio are expected to sit on the Stellantis STLA Large architecture, which will also support other models within the wider Stellantis stable.
Big electric range for new Giulia
The Giulia EV’s underpinnings will offer a minimum of 800km (497 miles) of range, with battery sizes ranging from 85kWh to 118kWh, according to Stellantis investor information. This would give the electric Giulia one of the longest ranges of any EV on sale. It will apparently have class-leading rapid-charge capability, with up to 20 miles of range added per minute.
But speaking more recently from the 2024 Paris Motor Show, Imperato told us his Alfa successor Santo Ficili “has the flex” to implement a multi-fuel strategy if market conditions and customer appetites dictate it necessary.
These comments contradict the then Alfa CEO’s stance from a few years ago, and reflect Europe’s softening EV market. Back in 2022, Imperato said a move to full electrification for its core saloon was a must as the brand looked to turn its portfolio of models to fully electric by the end of the decade.
“I have to make some big choices”, he said previously. “If I want to have more than an average level of performance, I must be bold. If I say I go electric, I go electric. I’m not half pregnant, if you see what I mean? It doesn’t work. It is a risk, but that’s normal. We are here to take some risks, but we have passed the tipping point for me.”
Driver-centric focus
One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the maker’s focus on engagement. Back then, Alfa’s boss outlined that the brand would continue to prioritise the driver-centric and sporty approach its cars have become known for. In Paris, he told us: “You will see, on STLA Large, the level of performance we can reach”.
He doesn’t see this being diluted with Alfa’s EVs, either: “I would love to have this ‘light is right’ tagline for Alfa Romeo,” Imparato said. “Even if I have one tonne of battery behind me, I want to convey an idea of lightness, even if I am electrified. It’s a fundamental of Alfa Romeo and we are building this new range based on that. But it’s not enough – we are working on the vibe you will feel when you drive an Alfa Romeo in 2025.”
This won’t be an artificial sound either, according to Imparato. The Frenchman outlined that he doesn’t want to bring fake features to Alfa’s cars, which would not be in keeping with its values.
As a result, his innovation team is working on sensations it wants its customers to feel, vibrations, feedback “probably some new sounds and movements, but nothing fake – that is the intention”.
New Giulia Quadrifoglio?
On the performance end of the Giulia scale, the Quadrifoglio’s future is not clear. There is potential for more powerful all-wheel drive models to sit on the STLA Large platform, with Stellantis claiming a 0-62mph time of 2.0 seconds is possible for cars based on this tech. Imparato has said that if Alfa Romeo was not able to deliver the right level of performance a Quadrifoglio model needed to bring in any given sector, the brand would not compromise by building such a car.
Alfa Romeo will study a performance-focused Quadrifoglio version on all of its new-car launches, looking to offer this higher-powered, more aggressive option that’s “fully consistent with the Quadrifoglio message that we stand for since the beginning of the brand.”
For the EV, Stellantis will have three electric drive modules at its disposal, with the third offering 400 or 800v tech and up to 443bhp per motor. It means to reach the required performance level for a Giulia Quadrifoglio it would likely use a dual-motor four-wheel-drive set-up. Any combustion-engined option is likely to pair a six-cylinder turbocharged engine with either mild or plug-in hybrid power.
To protect the characteristics Alfa needs its future cars to have the brand has a member of its product team embedded in the development of the STLA Large architecture. “The guy who is embedded by us to define the specification, the features, the performance, is Fabio Migliavacca, the guy who developed the GTA version for Alfa Romeo,” Imperato said. “He breathes Alfa Romeo, so he will give the features we need to define this totally clean-sheet design.”
There are also a number of “dream cars” Imparato and the team he leaves behind would love to create. While he admitted a GTV is on that list, he said: “If I have to make a choice, I go for the Duetto Spider. Obviously, we have designed that car, but I will not dare to put that on the table before Alfa Romeo is completely secure [in its finances]. But we can do it with the technological bridge we have in the product plan, no problem.”
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