Everything  you need to know about the Alfa Romeo Giulia

Martin Pretorius

In the first decades after the Second World War, Alfa Romeo earned their reputation by manufacturing sporty, classy, and usually pretty sedans, coupés and roadsters. It wasn’t all show and no go, either, as post-war Alfas featured high-tech (for the time) engines, which punched way above their size classes. Meanwhile, their underpinnings allowed enthusiastic drivers to make the most of the power at their disposal. And now, the same holds true for the latest Alfa sedan, the Giulia.

In fact, it could be said that Alfa Romeo created the compact executive sedan class, when they revealed the little Giulietta saloon in 1955. While this sedan wasn’t anywhere near as gorgeous as the various Sprint- and Spider derivatives of this line, it offered sparkling driving dynamics and high performance in a time when small saloons were generally primitive, plodding beasts of burden.

The next generation, and the birth of the Giulia

Unveiled in mid-1962, the arrival of the Giulia moved Alfa Romeo a little bit further upmarket. While the first Giulia was still comparatively small, its boxy new body gave it much-improved practicality, with cabin- and luggage space stepping up a full class.

Do not be deceived by its square-cut styling, however: in spite of that upright profile, the 1962 Giulia boasted a drag coefficient of only 0.34 – a figure that would only be bettered in a sedan more than two decades later. 

As a result, the Giulia was a storming performer in its day, with the “TI Super” derivative only running out of puff near 190 km/h. That’s serious speed for the early 1960s, let alone from a spacious four-door sedan with only 82 kW. That power output is very impressive in itself, really, being extracted from a mere 1.6-litre engine!

Evolution

About a year after its initial introduction, the Giulia adopted 4-wheel disc brakes (again, revolutionary for its era), but apart from a few mild facelifts and trim changes, the Giulia remained essentially unchanged for the next 16 years. Why mess with a great thing? 

The Giulia did spawn a larger, even more square-cut development in 1968, however. Carrying the name “Berlina” (even “sedan” sounds sexy in Italian!), this variant introduced the larger 1750- and 2000 versions of Alfa’s legendary twin-cam engine. Successful in its own right, it even overlapped the first production runs of the newer (and larger still) Alfetta range, but by 1977, it was all over for the Giulia and most of its numerous offspring. 

Letting the land lie fallow for almost four decades

What followed was years of tedium, with only the occasional spark of brilliance. While there were repeated rumours of the storied Giulia nameplate being resurrected over the following years, nothing ever saw the light. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Alfa’s larger sedans were all moved onto front-wheel driven, Fiat-derived platforms, seeing as Fiat acquired the embattled Alfa Romeo halfway through this decade. 

The final rear-wheel drive Alfa Romeo saloon left the Arese (Italy) factory in 1992. Thus began the dark years of so-so saloons and lukewarm hatchbacks. Yes, the 156 was very pretty, and the late-1990s Spider and GTV models were surprisingly good to drive, but Alfa Romeo enthusiasts still yearned for the exquisite, rear-wheel drive sports machines of the past. 

Sadly, Alfa Romeo could never answer this call. Because the company was basically perpetually broke, they could never afford to do their own thing. Sure, there were some expensive special-build Alfas to keep the fans salivating (the Maserati-based 8C coupé and lovely little 4C sports car come to mind), but their mainstream products were decidedly ordinary in concept and specification. 

This was as a result of all the Fiat DNA coursing through their veins: no matter how hard they tried, the workaday heritage of their oily bits could never be entirely banished. 

Enter Marchionne

As CEO of Fiat since 2004 until his passing in 2018, Sergio Marchionne always had big plans for Alfa Romeo. It was under his guidance that the 8C and 4C saw the light of day, but he wanted even more: the return of the Real Alfa Romeo. So, he did what any forward-thinking chief executive would do, which was to rope in help from the experts. 

The team he enlisted to realise his dream could not have come from a more eclectic talent pool. The entire project was overseen by Ferrari’s technical director, while the same guy who sorted out the Ferrari 458’s sublime dynamics was tasked with making sure the new Alfa Romeo lived up to these high expectations.

Rebirth of the Giulia

The result was spectacular. At its unveiling in 2015, the Giulia premièred an all-new rear-wheel drive (with built-in all-wheel drive compatibility) platform known as "Giorgio". Boasting a perfect 50/50 front-rear weight distribution, and a selection of new, up-to-date engines, the new Giulia promised a return to the genuinely sporting machines upon which the company’s fame was built.

What made the Giulia all the more remarkable was its short gestation time, going from concept to production-ready in less than three years. For any car to come out this good after such an accelerated development program is frankly astonishing, and doing it from scratch, even more so. Further spin-offs from the Giorgio program include the equally-impressive Stelvio SUV-Crossover (a finalist in the 2019 AutoTrader SAGMJ Car of the Year competition), as well as a possible GTV Coupé and a new Spider.

The current range

There are two engines currently on offer in the Giulia range: a 2.0-litre turbo 4-cylinder with 147 kW and 330 Nm, and a bellowing 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 with 375 kW and 600 Nm. Both engines drink petrol, and both feature stepless variable valve timing, variable valve lift, and direct fuel injection. Definitely no lack of modern technology here! 

While all-wheel drive is available in overseas markets, South Africa only receives the rear-wheel drive variants, and only with an 8-speed torque converter automatic gearbox. 

The 4-cylinder Giulia can be had in either basic 2.0T (R616 900) or upmarket 2.0T Super (R686 900) trim, with a host of optional extras to personalise them. Even the basic 2.0T is reasonably well-equipped, however, and features 6 airbags and stability control, dual-zone climate control, cruise control with steering wheel buttons, a colour infotainment display, 16-inch alloy wheels, a leather-trimmed steering wheel, and automatic wipers and headlights. 

Super trim adds rear parking sensors, 17-inch alloy wheels, adaptive cruise control, some styling bits, and a few extra luxuries such as partial-leather seat upholstery. The cool gadgets such as Xenon headlights, bigger wheels, navigation, cameras, sunroof, and electric seat adjustment can only be found on the options list.

The range-topping Quadrifoglio variant (R1 426 000) uses that monstrous V6 engine, and has most of the options fitted as standard. Its main selling point is the driving experience on offer, however, as the power at hand perfectly complements the excellent driving dynamics inherent in the Giorgio platform. How fast is it? Well, the 0 – 100 km/h sprint takes only 3.9 seconds, while its top speed is limited (!) to 307 km/h. Why limit the maximum speed to such an odd number? Because the 19-inch tyres can’t handle going faster. How Italian is that?

Into the future

The Giulia is only the first of a range of cars expected to be spawned off the Giorgio platform. It’s still a pretty new model, though, so it’s unlikely that the Giulia itself will see many changes in the immediate future. However, the (hoped-for) GTV Coupé and Spider derivatives, along with more SUVs in the style of the Stelvio and a range-topping luxury sedan, aren’t outside the realm of possibility. It’s difficult to say when to expect what, however, as Alfa Romeo plays their product plans very close to their corporate chest.

Of greater significance is the probability that some Giorgio-based Chrysler- and Dodge sedans and SUVs might see the light for the North American market. That would make perfect sense, seeing as those companies have access to this brilliant new platform through FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles), and their current model ranges are very dated by now. Those cars will be irrelevant to South Africa, however, following the withdrawal of these brands from the South African market in 2017. Then again, nothing is ever certain when discussing Chrysler...

But, be that as it may, at least we get to enjoy the Giulia (and Stelvio) on local shores. Local premium saloon buyers struggle to get to grips with such a pricey Alfa Romeo, and generally prefer to seek their gratification in Audis, BMWs or Mercedes-Benzes, but the few who have already taken the plunge can enjoy the delights of a real Alfa Romeo. It’s about time, too!