1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Slow Chinese market delays Maserati and Alfa Romeo models

We already told you that Alfa Romeo was delaying the Giulia sedan and an unnamed CUV, but now things are getting worse. According to Bloomberg, Maserati has delayed the Alfieri sports car. And it's all China's fault. The faltering Chinese domestic market, which is experiencing its slowest period of growth in nearly three decades, is forcing Fiat Chrysler to rethink its plans for its Italian models, Bloomberg reports. Rather than going for models that would likely be popular in China, including the Alfa CUV and a larger sedan, the company will shift its focus and bring out updated MiTo and Giulietta hatchbacks, both of which would play better in Europe, an unnamed source within FCA told Bloomberg. This news is notable because it shows that FCA boss Sergio Marchionne's ambitious product transformation is not progressing as smoothly as planned. In the MiTo's case, the company is willing to go back on its original strategy. The subcompact hatch wasn't supposed to survive beyond 2016, but Bloomberg is reporting an update is due by the middle of next year. As for Maserati, well, there's not much to say. The Alfieri was supposed to go on sale next year, and now it's not. There's no word on how (or even if) Maserati's priorities will shift to another vehicle, or if this is simply a matter of money being distributed away from one of FCA's brands and toward another. Related Video: News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Andy Wong / AP Alfa Romeo Maserati Sergio Marchionne FCA alfa romeo giulia alfa romeo mito alfa romeo giulietta maserati alfieri

US-spec 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia details revealed

Maurice the Bowler from The Simpsons said, "Better than the act, better than the memory, is the anticipation!" He wasn't talking about the 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, but he could have been. Recently delayed another six months by parent company Fiat, we're going to do a whole lot more anticipating since the sedan might not make it here until the actual 2017 calendar year. That's a shame to think about because the top-of-the-Giulia line is a thing of beauty, so we'll enjoy it at the LA Auto Show while we have it. Built on the new Giorgio architecture developed in conjunction with Ferrari, its standard elements are a 2.9-liter, twin-turbo V6 with 505 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. That power number is the largest Alfa Romeo has ever let loose from a production car factory, and that torque is available from 2,500 to 5,000 rpm. The fireworks are sent to the rear wheels through a short throw six-speed manual transmission and carbon fiber driveshaft, and 19-inch wheels can convert those explosions into a 3.8-second run from 0-60 miles per hour and a top speed of 191 mph. The Giulia Quadrifoglio gets its grunt massaged by tech like an active front splitter controlled by two electronic actuators, a carbon fiber rear spoiler, torque-vectoring limited-slip differential, and adaptive damping. Brembo four-pot calipers all around hugging iron rotors come stock, you'll find carbon ceramics on the options list providing six-piston Brembos in front and four-piston Brembos in back. The carbon fiber hood and roof, and extensive aluminum bits like the doors and fenders go easy on the scales and help provide a "near 50/50 weight distribution." Cylinder deactivation will help you go easy on the gas, if not the throttle. After the top-dog Giulia gets here its less powerful minions will follow, all of them motivated by a 276-horsepower, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder. All-wheel-drives comes after launch, too. Interior options will be lengthy and detailed, with a mix of materials, colors, and stitching. For the hardest of the hardcore, Sparco racing seats can be had for the Quadrifoglio. You can read about all of this and much more in the press release below, here's the number you'll want to know now: "around $70,000," the US MSRP we're now being warned about. Because beauty is not cheap, especially when it's quick.

Mysterious Maserati test mule could be upcoming Alfa Romeo Giulia

Well well well, what have we here? The truth is that we don't know. It seems to be a Maserati Ghibli, but since that model is already out on the market, we're likely looking at something else. Just what is the question, and the answer likely lies in the wheelbase. While this test mule, spied undergoing cold-weather testing in northern Sweden, is clearly wearing the bodywork (and likely most of the mechanical bits) from the Ghibli, it's riding on a shortened wheelbase. Which tells us this could be one of two things: it's likely to be a test mule either for the upcoming Maserati Alfieri sports car, or for the new Alfa Romeo Giulia. The Alfieri was presented in concept form at the Geneva Motor Show back in March, foreshadowing a new sports car to serve as a halo model in the Maserati lineup. The production version is expected to be smaller and nimbler than the existing GranTurismo and positioned against the likes of the Porsche 911, Jaguar F-Type and Mercedes-AMG GT, to name just a few. The Giulia, meanwhile, is slated to be the first all-new Alfa Romeo since the arrival of the 4C last year and the Italian marque's first mainstream model since the launch of the Giulietta in 2010. The new sedan is expected to go after the likes of the BMW 3 Series and the new Jaguar XE, slotting in below the larger Maserati Ghibli that seeks to challenge the 5 Series and XF. If this is indeed a test mule for the new Alfa sedan, the quad tailpipes would seem, as our spy photographers point out, to indicate it's laying the groundwork for the GTA performance version. One way or another, there's something enticing to be coming soon from Italy, so watch this space.