The Alfa Thread

[BlackbirdM3]

Is it real? We've seen so many renderings and fake prototypes. It does look like a functioning car in those pics. I thought they didn't want to use "Giulia" because no one gets that.

So a little F10 in the headlights? Or is that the new 300 in the headlights. Kind of standard taillights, but not ugly.

A little 3-series in proportions…not a bad thing either.

500hp? Seriously? That will make people notice.

Thanks, I'll pass. I'd rather put my $ into my real Alfa than that. I don't care that that has more than 5 times more hp than my '59 101 Sprint, the Sprint has more class and character. The best part being that in 15 years, my car will still be going up in value and this will be recycled and long forgotten.

This modern thing still suffers from all the things I dislike about all modern cars. That said, the 101 Spider race car looks pretty tempting. I wonder how it drives. Hopefully better than the 99 point concours car that is parked next to my Datsun at this very second. (That one is a lot scary to push the pace in. It doesn't stop, and the steering is tight yet nervous.)

Will

[LateFan]

maybe not in white…..

[Wschnitz]

Hey dont get me wrong I like older alfas too, but you always need a DD, and alfa seems to have finally come out with their own nice chassis for once.

Its also probably cheaper then a 66 105 sprint speciale lol

Edit: oh god yeah no white pls

[LateFan]

…and gigantic progress compared to this nose and these lights…

[Wschnitz]

…and gigantic progress compared to this nose and these lights…

[ATTACH]98403[/ATTACH]

Yeah I agree this new car lives up to guilia name way more then the hatchback turds over the years. Im just hoping the non Quad version isnt a FWD shitbox.

Also anyone else notice all the ground effects/spoilers seem to be moving on the quad?

[LateFan]

No, I think the platform itself is RWD, with an option for 4WD. It's likely to be shared with some SUV thing and a Chrysler sedan (Charger??).

[Wschnitz]

We can hope, I was just saying I hope they dont make a crappy version for US consumption. Im assuming its charger based, looks about the same size. Although people are saying its bespoke alfa.

Alfa might save Fiat/Chrysler if this car does well.

[LateFan]

I think you're right. And from what I've read, this is part of the survival strategy - you can't come over here with another bland, high-mileage sedan. It has to be the top of the line badass to attract a lot of attention. The auto press will be all over this, with mag covers doing shootouts with the M4 etc.

The 4C is sort of the same idea, but such tiny production numbers and so specialized that it's not going to pull the market to them (Alfa).

Likely there will be 4 cyl versions after this gets its foot in the door. No FWD cars from what they're promising. All "sporting" models, but down-market from the Maser sedans and coupes.

Bird - of course we all love old Giulias and Sprints, and we'll keep our old cars forever. But a modern company has to decide - are we going to build $100,000 MGB replicas with Mazda engines like that company in England, or are we going all in and building modern sporting cars with our own engine designs, and compete? They have to just forget the NA market, fold up, or build a great (modern) car. That means it will have to have all the gadgets and luxury shit and safety gear and tall hood and….

[Wschnitz]

I also question that 3.9s 0-60, is the chassis that heavy? with 510hp its a good 80hp above the M3/M4 which also does 0-60 in 3.9s.

But yeah, would be nice to see like a 1750 turbo RWD/AWD version, maybe using another variant of the engine in the 4C.

[LateFan]

I hope it's not Charger-sized. But they can stretch and widen a platform once it's designed that way - that's how the Giulietta sedan turned into a 200…I think…or was that a Fiat chassis? Either way, that car was a smaller Fiat before it was a 200.

[LateFan]

It does have a manual.



For contrast, another Giulia...


Discuss….

[BlackbirdM3]

Hey dont get me wrong I like older alfas too, but you always need a DD, and alfa seems to have finally come out with their own nice chassis for once.

Its also probably cheaper then a 66 105 sprint speciale lol

Edit: oh god yeah no white pls

Was my daily driver till the day it got killed.

Yes one of these new ones is cheaper than a 101 (The 105 was the early GTV) Sprint Speciale. White is a bad color for any car. To be honest, white and red are my two least favorite colors for a car.

Will

[LateFan]

^^^ iz nice. I love 69s, better than step noses I think. I DD'd my Duetto for many many years, parked it in the Kingdome parking lot, in the rain, door dings… Until a guy here hit me in the trunk lid at a stop sign, then two years (??) in a body shop on the back burner, then I got it back and realized it was full of 40 year old systems that needed rebuilding. Now it's on jacks getting a new suspension, rear axle, brake system, fuel system, yada yada..


Top Gear had some more detail about the new Giulia sedan….

"...power is courtesy of a 'Ferrari-inspired' 3.0 V6 with two turbos for power and cylinder activation to improve economy when going more gently.

They did rev the motor for us, and it sounds absolutely amazing, gutteral and hard-edged and yet sweet.

CEO Harald Wester said rival cars are all the same these days. "Premium is a commodity, a sea of indifference."

He says an Alfa should be distinct. "We said what if we started to actively drive? The new Alfa Romeos will put the driver centre stage, totally immersed in the act."

The 510bhp car is rear-drive. It has a proper torque-vectoring rear diff.

There's all-aluminium suspension with an extremely sophisticated double-wishbone 'semi-virtual steering axis' setup at the front. So they want it to handle. The steering is claimed to be more high-geared than any rival.

Weight distribution is 50:50, and there's a lot of effort to reduce that overall mass. Carbonfibre is used amazingly extensively: propshaft, roof, bonnet. Not only the suspension and subframes are rendered in aluminium, but the doors and wings too. Overall weight is about 1500kg, which is very tidy for a car of this kind.

Brakes are carbon ceramic. The body is said to generate downforce: at the front there's an active splitter.

...But the Alfa has an aggressive, neat, and very animate face, with the trefoil air intakes a modernised version of the lovely 1950s Giulietta Sprint. The side forms are simple and organic.

There will be turbo four-cylinder petrols of 1.4-litre and 1.8-litre capacities, and four-cylinder and V6 diesels.

...a big round version of Alfa's 'DNA' mode switch. But this time is goes one louder, from 'Dynamic' to 'Race'.

...the cabin isn't pebble-dashed with switches. That's because the Giulia does without the vast array of electronic support systems the German rivals are touting these days.

The Giulia goes on sale in the UK in September 2016.


Yes, I sound like I'm drinking the cool-aid, I know…. I assume it will also be very expensive - they're not saying.

[BlackbirdM3]

I might be acquiring most of a 1600 Veloce motor with dual 40DCOEs for my '59 Sprint. The head studs in the block might be bad, and the crank might be suspect, but I don't know. They are parts off another friends 11 year long 90+ point restoration that weren't used. I can't say no to that.

Will

[LateFan]

^^ Nice. I have a spare 1600 on the garage floor, but no carbs.


I love these single-headlight Juniors

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