“I don’t want to become an SUV brand even if the world is switching to SUVs,” Imparato added. The Giulia will reintroduce several design cues from historic Alfa Romeos, most notably including the abrupt ‘Coda Tronca’ rear end. Nonetheless, it will remain a thoroughly modern proposition.
Design boss Alejandro Mesonero-Romano warned: “We have to be careful how much inspiration we take from the past. As designers, a little like chefs, the aim is to mix classic ingredients into a ‘new sauce’ that today’s generation will respond to.”
The new Giulia will replace the current car on the line at Stellantis’s plant in Cassino, Italy, where it will join the next Alfa Romeo Stelvio and the Maserati Grecale.
A new Maserati Quattroporte, also based on the STLA Large structure, had been scheduled to enter production at Cassino next year, but this has been postponed until 2028 for further development and cost reductions.
In the meantime, Alfa Romeo is set to expand its line-up significantly with ambitions of global growth. Its first series-production electric car, the Milano SUV, is due in dealers in a matter of months, and the new-generation Stelvio will follow next year.
An electric Porsche Cayenne rival is due in around 2027, and senior executives have suggested it could be joined by several niche models, following the launch later this year of the £1.7 million, highly limited 33 Stradale supercar.