The Alfa Romeo Giulia Thread

Alfa Romeo Giulia & Stelvio (2021) Launch Review

The revised Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio have touched down in SA and we travelled to Gauteng to get behind the ‘wheels of arguably the prettiest cars in their respective segments. However, “good looks can only take you so far”, as they say… and the Italian pair is certainly up against some stiff competition!

Summary

In much the same fashion as before, the Alfa Romeo pairing of the Giulia and Stelvio appeals to driving enthusiasts and Italian-car lovers, thanks to distinctively stylish looks plus excellent driving manners. We do think Alfa Romeo has missed a trick by not offering a turbodiesel option for the SUV, as – by its own admission during the presentation – diesel power is still relevant in the R1-million SUV segment.

Downsides? It’s only upon closer inspection of the models’ cabins that some flaws become apparent. While the Giulia and Stelvio’s cabins are ergonomically fine, the upgraded infotainment system’s screen is a bit too dark for our liking. Most of the interior materials are of good quality, but there are a couple of cheap-feeling elements here and there, such as the insubstantial electronic handbrake switch.

Then there’s the question of after-sales and backup. We all know Alfa Romeo owners have a love/hate relationship with their cars and while we as journalists report on new vehicle launches, we cannot predict what the ownership experience of a car will be like in 3 years’ time. We hope things will be different under Stellantis, as Alfa Romeo’s PSA sister brands appear to be doing quite well in Europe.

Then there’s depreciation… there are some rather tempting low-mileage pre-facelift Giulias and Stelvios available at extraordinarily low prices in the used-car market. Still, we did an online configuration of a BMW 330i M Sport (a direct rival to the Giulia Veloce) to the Alfa Romeo’s spec level and found there wasn’t a very big price difference at all. A competitively priced new Alfa Romeo… Who’d a thunk it?

How much does the new Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio cost in South Africa?

The updated duo from Italy is sold with a 5-year/100 000 km warranty and maintenance plan as standard.

Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce R989 900
Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio R1 599 900
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Super R1 159 900
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio R1 749 900

 
New Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA: all 500 units now sold

Lightweight four-door flagship officially taken off sale as final order placed

Alfa Romeo has confirmed that it has taken its final order for the new Giulia GTA super-saloon, with all 500 units now spoken for.

"To all intents and purposes, the Giulia GTA is now a collector’s car", the brand said, although it added that it will keep the reservations list open in case of any cancelled orders.

The Giulia GTA is the most powerful road car Alfa Romeo has built, and - with a starting price of €176,500 (£153,300) for the standard car and €181,500 (£157,700) for the stripped-out GTAm variant - the most expensive, too. The limited-run 8C Competizione supercar, production of which finished in 2010, carried a £112,000 price.

 
All 500 Units Of Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA And GTAm Sold Out

In July this year, we got confirmation that the Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA (and GTAm) would be making its way to South Africa and now we can confirm that all 500 units worldwide have been sold.

“To all intents and purposes, the Giulia GTA is now a collector’s car”, the brand said, although it added that it will keep the reservations list open in case of any cancelled orders.

The Giulia GTA is the most powerful road car Alfa has built and the price tag would also be considered very powerful considering the GTA costs R3,999,999 while the stripped out GTAm variant will be a whopping R4,299,999.

South Africa has been allocated just 8 of these and it is up to the client to choose if they want the regular GTA or the hardcore GTAm specification. The GTAm comes with just two seats, six-point harnesses, and a roll bar while remaining fully street legal.

 
All 500 Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA and GTAm allocations have been sold out

The Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA and GTAm were revealed as the pinnacle performance model for the Italian sedan just over a year ago. The manufacturer now confirms that the limited allocation of 500 units have all been spoken for.

“To all intents and purposes, the Giulia GTA is now a collector’s car.” Alfa Romeo says. The hardcore performance sedan duo have been to customers all over the globe with key regions being China, Japan and Australia. A number of units have been reserved for South Africa as well, with the GTA boatsing an asking price of R3 999 900 and the GTAm R4 299 900.

The Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA is said to be a project with a strong emotional element that produced a product catering to enthusiasts of the brand and the sports sedan segment.

Considering that plans always change, the brand confirms that it will be opening a reserve list for any customers still interested in purchasing an Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA, which will be fulfilled in the light of any cancellations.

Conceived to celebrate 110 years of the Italian brand (and, of course, pay tribute to the original Alfa Romeo GTA of 1965), the new Giulia GTA features four seats while the Giulia GTAm pares things back to just two race seats, complete with a roll-bar and six-point harnesses.

 
DRIVEN: 2021 Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio are responsive and entertaining

We drove both 2.0-litre versions and the driver focused DNA of the Alfa filters through immediately from the sharp steering, the analogue dials set in the traditional round housing, drivers position and handling provides a welcome reminder that driving can still be a lot of fun. The double wishbone front suspension and multi-link rear suspension combine perfectly with its almost 50/50 weight distribution that makes short shrift of gentle bends and sharp corners.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Giulia with its correct proportions and rear-wheel drive, but was impressed by the Stelvio thanks to its best-in-class weight that had it handling more like a sedan than an SUV.

The interior is filled with soft-touch surfaces, quality leather, extremely comfortable seats, easy to reach dials and a general air of executive flair that has no reason to stand back for any of the competition.

For the true Alfisti carbon-fibre paneled 500 GTA and track-biased GTAm vehicles with the engine boosted to 397kW are being made worldwide priced at R4-million and R4.3-million.

So far five have been confirmed for South Africa.

PRICING

Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce: R 989 900
Alfa Romeo Giulia QV: R 1 599 900

Alfa Romeo Stelvio Super: R 1 159 900
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Q: R 1 749 900


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The Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA has sold out

All 500 examples of the Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA are spoken for, but all is not lost

The Giulia GTA - and its even more hardcore sibling, the GTAm - was Alfa Romeo’s 110th birthday present to itself last year, and after promising to build no more than 500 examples, they’ve now all gone. Boo.

Alfa claims that the GTA has been a hit all over the world with ‘significant numbers’ sold in China, Japan and Australia in particular. Back when we drove it the two versions were being shifted in roughly the same numbers, but there’s no word on whether that trend endured throughout the car’s run.

Priced from £153,000, the Giulia GTA is powered by a 2.9-litre bi-turbo V6 tuned to deliver 532bhp, enough to cover 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds. The GTAm uses exactly the same powertrain but ditches things like back seats and door handles in favour of a roll cage and a whopping great rear wing for a total weight saving of 100kg over the Giulia QV. Though as we later discovered, the maths doesn’t entirely add up

You also got a choice of racing liveries (and your own choice of racing number) for your £5k premium over the standard model.

 
Alfa Romeo refreshes its Giulia and Stelvio SUV in SA - what you should know

• Alfa Romeo have launched updated versions of the Stelvio and Giulia.

• The Italian automaker now forms part of the Stellantis group.

• Five units of the very exclusive Giulia GTA have been confirmed for the South African market.

Stellantis is a new global brand that incorporates Fiat, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Opel, Peugeot and Citroën, making them the sixth-largest multinational automaker globally. Similarly, all these brands are now represented by one organisation and one dealer network in South Africa.

The advantage of such a consortium is that each brand can focus on what they are good at, and collectively they offer something for almost anyone who walks onto their showroom floor.

With a rich motorsport heritage that goes back more than 100 years, Alfa Romeo is not a volume brand but rather a brand that oozes passion and serves its discerning customer by offering unique takes on popular vehicle concepts that speak to this need.

Pricing

Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce R989 900
Alfa Romeo Giulia QV R1 599 900

Alfa Romeo Stelvio Super R1 1159 900
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Q R1 749 900

 
Alfa Romeo has launched a pair of delightfully retro specials

When you've got heritage like Alfa's, you surely mine it every chance you get

You might have noticed Alfa Romeo likes giving the Giulia and Stelvio frequent licks of paint. The special editions are coming thick and fast, suggesting either the cars aren’t quite selling at the rate of knots expected – and thus need a little help – or that Alfa has an enviable heritage just brimming with great opportunities to inject some zing into two of the most sensible sectors of the car market.

The truth perhaps lives somewhere in the middle, but who are we to complain – this latest pair look pretty spiffing. And of course their names are utterly iconic – the Giulia and Stelvio GT Junior editions wear a name familiar from some pert little Sixties sports cars.

They also wear a similar colour, ‘Lipari Ochre’ clearly influenced by the GT 1300 Junior that Alfa conveniently found to park beside them for the marketing pics. Which to really enliven the left side of your brain, were taken in front of the Duomo in Milan. If you can’t hear Nessun Dorma in your head, you aren’t reading this story properly.

The Junior specials are based on the Giulia and Stelvio’s Veloce trim level, and get new alloy wheel designs to complement the paint scheme as well as new trim inside, the GT 1300’s side profile etched into the dashboard and ‘GT Junior’ stitched into the headrests.


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Manhart has built an Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio with 644bhp

Missed out on a Giulia GTA? How does an extra 100bhp sound instead?

We love the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. We love the standard car with its 503bhp, we love the 532bhp GTA and we also love the roll-caged, rear-winged GTAm.

And yet, German tuner Manhart has decided that none of those will do, and what the QV really needs is a power bump to 644bhp.

It’s planning to make 10 examples of this caps-locked MANHART QV 600, and the first one is up for sale right now for €119,500 (around £100,000). Worth it?

Well, for that you get the ‘Stage 3’ power update courtesy of an ECU remap and a turbo upgrade. You also get a REMUS exhaust with carbon tips, new suspension and those 20-inch wheels. Not as nice as the standard wheels though, are they?


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Manhart’s QV 600 is a 486 kW Alfa Romeo Giulia

While one might usually associate Manhart performance with wild versions of BMW Group products, every now and then they dip their toe into other pots, as seen here with the Manhart QV 600, their take on the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde.

Manhart have cranked the Giulia’s 2,9-litre Ferrari-derived twin-turbocharged V6 up from its stock 380 kW and 600 N.m to an impressive 487 kW and 790 Nm. This comes courtesy of the Manhart turbo performance kit which consists of upgrades to both of the turbochargers, more efficient intercoolers and Manhart ECU remapping.

Manhart OPF-Delete replacement pipes with 200-cell catalytic converters and race downpipes without a catalytic converter are connected to a Manhart stainless steel exhaust system with valve control by Remus, culminating in a set of four 100 mm carbon fibre tailpipes. In order to accommodate the hike in power and torque, the ZF eight- Speed automatic transmission has received a Manhart transmission upgrade, too.

20-inch Manhart Classic Line rims in satin black with rim decoration in Manhart-typical gold sit at all four corners, however at the customer’s request, alternative colours and finishes can be had.

 
TESTED: Alfa Giulia 2.0T Veloce drives as good as it looks

VERDICT

After a good day behind the wheel of the Alfa Giulia Veloce, I left the media launch satisfied. The car impressed me, it drove as good as it looks and offered a lot in terms of spec. It is the driving dynamics that left many other motoring scribes and me in agreement. I can’t wait to spend more time with it later on.

If you like what I’m saying here but are over sedans and want the same thing but in SUV guise, don’t worry, Alfa has the Stelvio. I’ll divulge what that is like soon.

Alfa Romeo Giulia 2.0T Veloce

Price: R989 900
Engine: 2.0-litre, 4-cyl, turbopetrol
Gearbox: 8-speed automatic
Drive: Rear-wheel drive
Power: 206kW @ 5250rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2250rpm
0-100km/h: 5.7 seconds (claimed)
Top speed: 240km/h (claimed)
Fuel use: 6.0 l/100km (claimed)
Boot space: 480 litres
Warranty: 5-year/100 000km
Maintenance plan: 5-year/100 000km

 
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