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Notes from the 2016 Alfa Romeo Giulia reveal in Milan [w/video]

It's an interesting time for Alfa Romeo. Wednesday marked the brand's 105th birthday, but also a rebirth of sorts. The new Giulia is the first of several new vehicles to come out of the Project Giorgio skunkworks that has been quietly working to reimagine the brand. Fiat Chrysler is banking on these cars to finally turn Alfa around. Before the Giulia was rolled out, Alfa Romeo CEO Harald Wester acknowledged that the brand has had its share of missteps in the past. He then called out today's sporty offerings for having evolved into near-perfect but boring, commoditized cars across the industry. They have no soul, he said, nothing to differentiate one from the next. While I'd argue that each brand in the performance space still has something to differentiate itself from the others, anything that can be done to restore some of the man-machine connection lost to electronics and added weight can only be seen as a good thing. I like what I'm hearing from Alfa so far; below are some notes gleaned from the unveil event that make me think this reawakening might just work. The head of the skunkworks is Philippe Krief, a former Ferrari engineer. This is certainly a good sign for the car's dynamics and powertrain. Krief was quick to note that the Giulia uses "real" torque vectoring, not a brake-based solution like some others use. The rear differential uses a pair of clutches to apportion torque side to side. Alfa claims the car's steering will be the quickest in its segment, which I take to mean the one that currently includes the BMW M3, Mercedes-AMG C63, and Cadillac ATS-V. Immediacy translates to the braking system, as well. Alfa has come up with a new design that combines the stability control and brake servo into one unit; it's said to be simpler than two parts and also improves brake response. I'm pretty sure Krief even called its design beautiful while it flashed briefly onscreen. Quadrifoglio cars get carbon-ceramic brake discs to further improve performance and reduce weight. I didn't get to sit in the car, or even open the door, but I liked what I saw of the interior. The center console is angled to hem the driver in a little, which works well with the canted, sweeping dash. It kind of reminds me of the look in newer Mazdas – clean and simple with a good balance of organic curves and straight edges.

We're not getting the Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce, and that's fine

Alfa Romeo revealed today that a special edition of the Giulia sports sedan called "Veloce" will make its debut in Paris. It's only slated for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, but before you start lamenting that the US will once again miss out on a cool Euro-spec sedan, we have some good news: it's nothing special. The Giulia Veloce is just a normal Giulia with an appearance package and a fancy name. It comes with either the 280-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine, which we will get in 276-hosepower trim, or the 210-horsepower diesel four-cylinder. From there, Alfa throws in options like Q4 all-wheel drive, 19-inch 5-hole wheels, a tweaked front bumper, sport seats and steering wheel, rear diffuser and black window trim. That's it. Well that, and one of the Veloces at the show will sport a new color of blue, but it's not clear if that's a package-exclusive color or just another option. Many of these components will be available in the US, including the all-wheel drive, wheels, and, based on the American Alfa website, probably the black window trim. It's just that they won't all come in one package. And even if a few pieces of vehicle flair don't make it here, we're still not going to lose sleep over an appearance package. If you really need to be upset about something, perhaps consider the fact that we probably won't see Giulias on dealer lots until early next year. And that's just our best guess since we don't have an official launch date yet. Now that's something worthy of some frustration. Related Video:

Alfa Romeo to develop a large car in the United States

MILAN — Itay's Alfa Romeo will work on a new large car in the United States to be launched in 2027, the brand's head Jean-Philippe Imparato said on Friday, adding however the group had not yet decided where to manufacture it. Imparato said the step was key to tailoring the design for overseas markets, helping Alfa Romeo to strengthen its position as an international premium brand of carmaker Stellantis. "Our offer for a large size vehicle must fit international markets, American, Chinese, European," he said during a media call, a day after parent Stellantis released first half results. Alfa Romeo is still assessing whether the new model will be an SUV or crossover bigger though it already has Stelvio with Tonale on the way, or a sedan bigger than Giulia, but it will probably not be an SUV as large as BMW's X5 or X6, Imparato said. He told Automotive News that the vehicle could be a mix of the two vehicle types, perhaps not unlike the new Toyota Crown. "We want to find the right mix," he said. "It's a decision we will take by the end of this year." Imparato said developing the car in the U.S. did not mean it would be produced in North America. "Producing in the U.S. is not something we have decided and it is something we don't want to decide now," he added. Alfa's two production sites are in Italy.