In a car market dominated by crossovers and SUVs, performance sedans are more important than ever, at least to us enthusiasts. And nobody does sporty four-doors more dramatic than Alfa Romeo. Fortunately, the Italians have announced that their Giulia has a future, one that will extend past 2027, the year when the company is set to switch to 100% EV sales.
If you’ve driven a 3-Series and enjoyed its dynamic experience, you should slip behind the wheel of a Giulia. Be prepared for a new RWD enjoyment standard in the compact executive class, even if you’re not hooning the range-topping Giulia Quadrifoglio that packs a 505 hp 2.9L twin-turbo V6 (or the even spicier specials based on it).
Alas, the ownership experience also has a dark side, with the Italian experiencing considerably more reliability issues than its German rivals.
However, the current Alfa Romeo Giulia, aka Type 952, is getting long in the tooth. Having entered production back in 2015 for the 2016 model year, this has received no less than three significant updates so far, with the most recent one coming for the 2023 model year. So, what’s next?
The future of the Alfa Romeo Giulia
Earlier this year, Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato confirmed that the three-volume body style will remain a landmark of the brand. And, as expected, the carmaker will expand its crossover and SUV range. This currently consists of the Stelvio compact luxury model—this shares the Giorgio platform with the Giulia—and the Tonale compact crossover, which has also been rebranded as the Dodge Hornet.
“The car [Giulia] is absolutely gorgeous, so there is a future for this type of car, but it will be a future that will be electrified. It means probably 100 per cent full BEV [battery electric vehicle] for Alfa Romeo,” Imparato told Auto Express.
Interestingly, Alfa’s head honcho explored a different facett of the Giulia while talking to autocar back in May, as he spoke of also catering to the need of wagon fans. Of course, Alfa Romeo doesn’t afford to build both body styles, so you can probably expect a fastback sedan.
This is a styling feature Dodge has already integrated into this year’s Charger Daytona SRT all-electric concept, a coupe that previwes a an electric muscle car scheduled for production in 2024. And I didn’t mention the Mopar model by accident, since this will share its platform with the Giulia EV.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia EV will use Stellantis’ STLA Large platform
Previous rumors talked about the next-gen Dodge Charger and Challenger riding on an updated version of the current Giulia’s Giorgio RWD platform. However, electrifying this architecture wasn’t nearly as lucrative as introducing an all-new, battery-powered platform.
As such, parent company Stellantis chose the latter version, which is why the Giulia EV and Dodge Charger EV are set to use the STLA Large architecture. Based on specifications Stellantis has already published, this includes a battery capacity between 101 and 118 kWh and a range of 500 miles (800 km).
Of course, the switch to electron juice will see the Italian model going up against different competition, with the BMW i4 set to be its closest rival.
However, the Giulia’s switch to electron juice should see the model casting a larger shadow. For one, with Alfa Romeo having already shown interest in entering the E-segment (the Giulia is a D-segment car), the push for SUVs may mean there’s no room for two sedans in the carmaker’s range, so making the Giulia EV larger seems like the optimal solution.
Meanwhile, Alfa Romeo may choose to keep the Typo 952 Giulia alive for a few more years via a deeper revamp.
This independent Giulia EV rendering features Tonale styling DNA
Until Alfa Romeo delivers more clues on how the future of the model is shaped, we’ve brough along an indepedent rendering that portrays the Giulia EV.
Coming from digital artist Sugarchow (aka sugardesign_1), the CGI pictures the next-gen Giulia with a larger footprint, as mentioned above.
As far as the styling goes, the fastback sedan (it’s not an aggressive transformation) borrows multiple design cues from the Tonale, which is Alfa’s most recent production model. And you’ll find this portrayed next to an important part of the rich Giulia family tree, namely the Giulia Spring GT of the 1960s.
