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2021 Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Giulia get revamped trims and pricing

After a major interior and infotainment update last year, the 2021 Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Giulia get a more mild update consisting of a smaller trim lineup and a couple of extra features for some trims. The update also includes small price increases across the board. Four new colors are available, too, including Ocra GT Junior, Verde Montreal, Rosso GTA and Rosso Villa d'Este. The first two of those are shown in the galleries. Available trims have dropped from seven to four, with a couple of them simply becoming option packages for the remaining trims. The base trim is now called Sprint, a callback to Alfas of the past. Standard equipment for this trim is unchanged, including standard 10-way power adjustable leather seats, 8.8-inch touchscreen infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, remote start, proximity key and automatic emergency braking. As such the price only increases by $50 to $40,745 for the Guilia and $42,745 for the Stelvio. All-wheel drive is a $2,000 option on all Giulias and the Stelvio Sprint. Higher trim Stelvios get all-wheel drive standard. 2021 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio View 14 Photos The Ti and Ti Sport get the most additional standard equipment over last year's versions. They now get dual-pane sunroofs, navigation and HD radio. The Ti Sport also picks up a standard limited-slip rear differential. The Giulia and Stelvio Ti increases in price by $1,300 to $43,995 and $48,395 respectively. The Giulia Ti Sport price goes up by $1,500 to $47,195 while the Stelvio Ti Sport sees a $2,000 increase to $51,595. The Quadrifoglio trim, with its twin-turbocharged V6 is unchanged for 2021. It does get a $250 price increase with the Giulia starting at $76,345 and the Stelvio at $82,345. Related Video:

The Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio set a lap record at Silverstone with someone driving blind

Alfa Romeo announced today that its Giulia Quadrifoglio super sedan set a new lap record at Silverstone that nearly matched one put down by one of its Formula 1 cars in 1951. The F1 car set a time of 1:44, and the Giulia finished in 1:44.3. That may seem a bit slow for a modern 505-horsepower sports sedan, but it makes more sense when you realize the Giulia in question had black vinyl over the windows to keep the driver, Ed Morris, from seeing where he was going. Apparently Alfa thinks a clear view makes driving too easy. To get around the substantial handicap, Morris was assisted by directions from another driver in a following Giulia Quadrifoglio. The other driver, David Brise, radioed directions to Morris to get him around the track – and avoid crashing. Over the course of two days, the duo got the hang of it and set the aforementioned lap time. They even reached speeds of over 100 mph. You can see them practicing and setting the time in the video above. It was a cute record to set, but we're hoping blindfolded Nurburgring laps aren't next. Related Video:

Aston Martin applies to trademark 'Vanguard' name

Aston Martin hit up three trademark registration offices in an effort to reserve the name "Vanguard." The automaker from Gaydon sent two requests to the European Union Intellectual Property, one to the Japan Patent Office, and one to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on March 22. CarBuzz discovered the filings and suspects the name could be applied to the carmaker's first battery-electric vehicle. We've no idea if that's correct, but it sounds like a fine guess. Two years ago, then-Aston Martin CEO Tobias Moers told Motor Trend the automaker would overhaul its conventional lineup in 2023, launch the luxury automaker's first EVs in 2026, and convert half the lineup to electric cars by 2030. Other reports from last year indicated the brand would offer an electrified version of every model in the range by that year, and launch an EV in 2025. The new Vanquish is expected to arrive in 2025 with a hybrid powertrain, and there were suspicions awhile back that it would offer an electric option. The questions are, is the Vanguard the name for the rumored electric Vanquish? And if Vanguard ends up being used anywhere, and that use is on an EV concept or production car, has the timetable for that car's appearance changed? Filing a trademark often happens in the final year or two before debut. Aston Martin just applied for the DB12 name; we expect that car on the market in less than a year. A similar span separated the Valkyrie, 2001 Vanquish, DBS trademarks from their launches. On the other hand, the Cygnet got trademarked here two years before its launch, the DBX, five. Our guess is that we'll see the EV before the timeline we might have expected in 2021. This is the brand's 110th anniversary year, after all. Between that, the raft of new product on the way, and a stunning start to the Formula 1 season, why not take advantage of the momentum. Company boss Lawrence Stroll might also want to show investors — both those who could inject more money and those who might be trying buy a large share — that the company is ready to ride the alternative energy tide the appropriate way this time, as opposed to its last electric effort, the Aston Martin Rapide E. The electrification is anticipated to commence this year with the arrival of the V8-powered plug-in hybrid powertrain in the Valhalla, and could be bolstered by a mild hybrid system in the updated DB11 thought to be renamed DB12.