According to reports from Italy, the new Alfa Giulietta hatchback has just about reached its 2010 sales targets of 40,000 vehicles, selling 39,800 units by year’s end. It’s encouraging news for the model itself, but also the brand as it might go some way to mollifying Sergio Marchionne’s hard stance on the brand so far. The sales refer to the European market alone, as the Giulietta isn’t available on the American or Asian car markets yet, with a particular success on the German market where the brand has grown 113.5 percent. Could that make a Volkswagen purchase of Alfa Romeo even more appetising…? Despite the good news, 2011 should prove to be a tough year for the Giulietta with targets of 100,000 sales set. Apart from the MiTo, it’s virtually Alfa’s only real offering at the moment and we doubt one model can carry the brand, so here’s hoping for a sports Alfa to turn up sometime soon.

Source | Autoblog.it

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This Alfa Romeo Giulietta tuning will go on show at the Bologna Motor Show, starting on Saturday. The Marangoni tuning job, called the Giulietta G430 iMove, is a version of the Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde with new M-Power iGreen tyres in acid green. It’s the first Giulietta tuning to have appeared and has a style kit by TRC Italia inspired by the Ferrari 430 Scuderia (and by the still-born Mito GTA). This particular Giulietta has an aggressive front bumper and rear extractor, side skirts and rear view mirror frames in carbon fibre. The lovely charcoal grey has been chosen specifically for this model.

The Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde 1750 engine gets a new turbine, carbon airbox and exhaust system, along with reprogrammed engine mapping. The end result is 286 hp, an extra 51 on the original model. The suspension system gets an adjustable KW kit, the car is lowered and Tarox brakes are included. They have 10 pistons at the front, 360 mm and are mounted on the Barracuda wheels.

For some bizarre reason a Segway i2 scooter is included in the boot (in the same colours, of course, with 38 km of electric range) and iPad functionality is included on board. Italian clothing brand Conte of Florence has taken care of the interior finishings, obviously with some acid green touches which aren’t too bad - we’re starting to get Audi’s wasabi green, for instance. On the inside leather, alcantara and carbon fibre materials have been used along with featured stitching and the Conte of Florence brand.

Continue reading: Alfa Romeo Giulietta tuning by Marangoni: Quadrifoglio Verde goes acid

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The Italian press is proudly reporting of the sales success so far of the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta on the local market. The Giulietta has managed to reach 30,000 orders in recent months and has proved it could be a perfect replacement to what was originally a popular model - the Alfa 147. In making the announcement, Alfa CEO Harald J Wester underlined both the driving pleasure and safety characteristics of the Giulietta, saying that all of the recent Alfa models have managed a five-star safety rating.

The proof will probably be in the international pudding - it’s one thing to have lots of Italians buy an Alfa Romeo, and quite another to see it compete well in this segment on the world stage. However, the 30,000 Giuliettas will probably build on the highly popular Alfa MiTo, particularly on the local market, and while there are many die-hard Alfa fans out there, most of them are certainly not blind to Alfa’s difficulties of late. In fact, most of them have remained somewhere back in the heyday of Alfa, about 30-40 years ago.

Harald Wester went on to say: “From the launch to today we have collected more than 30,000 orders for the Giulietta - a number which leaves us feeling confident that we’ll reach the 100,000 sales set as the objective for its first year on the market. The results are even more positive when considering the fact that in some important markets, like the UK, the launch finished only in September. The Alfa MiTo and the Alfa Giulietta are sustaining the brand, enabling us to work calmly on our future. We are currently working on the industrial plan presented to investors in April, which represents the basis for stable and consistent growth of the brand.”

Source | La Repubblica via Autoblog.it

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This test drive video of the Alfa Giulietta gives the car a great write-up despite a few glitches that mean it falls short of perfect. It would be interesting to hear from Alfa Romeo as to whether the Giulietta was intended to be a “great driver’s car” or not as the main criticism levelled at it is lack of steering precision making it a slightly soft touch (clearly not one for the track, then).

But what we glean from this video is that Alfa has built a very impressive, premium hatchback which, with its fuel economy and reasonable price, certainly competes in its segment. With its reasonable pricetag, perhaps the Quadrifoglio Verde version at a premium could fix the steering issue and give dedicated Alfa fans the sports drive they want. In the meantime, if you want a sexy little number to cruise about in while not spending too much on petrol, this has got to be the hatch for you.

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This review of the new Alfa Giulietta should go some way to proving that the 20,000 sales of the new hatch on the Italian market are not just a sign of local patriotism for an Italian brand. The Autocar review takes in the new Alfa Giulietta 1.4 Multiair model - equipped with a good little Fiat engine of recent production.

While this particular engine has great overall performance spread, the Giulietta has also made steps to improve its handling with independent rear suspension making for a smooth, but fun, drive. While the Giulietta could have a more comfortable and sophisticated interior, it’s got very clever pricing: matching the Volkswagen Golf and beating the Audi A3 (two tough competitors in this segment).

What’s more, the verdict is that the Giulietta offers better performance and economy than both of its competitors mentioned above, making it a very attractive option on that front. We were initially skeptical about whether the Giulietta would be able to deliver on its good looks, but the performance seems to say that it does. And if you like Italian style and want to look sexier than what the Germans can provide….well, this might be for you.

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With reports that the Alfa MiTo will have a five-door version from 2013, here’s another rendering of what that might look like. From ‘Graphicar’ it looks awfully similar to the new Alfa Giulietta, which was our problem with the proposed model in the first place. Just how many hatches does Alfa Romeo think it can produce in attempts at relaunching a brand?

The new five-door MiTo would be based on the next generation MiTo and the next Fiat Punto Evo platform, also expected on the market for 2013. The company has apparently taken this option of a five-door MiTo with plans that it will debut on the US market along with the new Fiat Punto. At this point we wonder where Fiat is going with some of its plans for Alfa. If they have to develop another five-door hatch, this time based on the MiTo, why not take the Giulietta stateside and leave the investment in new models elsewhere…?

Source | Autoplus.fr via Autoblog.it

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When our Italian colleagues at Autoblog.it published this rendering of an Alfa Giulietta sprint, more than one website got excited that plans were underway to produce one. But before Alfa fans get carried away, and so do I (we had a lovely 1967 Giulia sprint as our wedding car recently), a Giulietta sprint doesn’t seem to be in Sergio Marchionne’s plans for the Alfa Romeo brand.

The sprint model indicates a two-door coupé and, as the Italians point out, it wouldn’t be an impossible feat off the back of the new ‘Compact’ platform. The platform has been developed to be flexible and will probably lend itself to the development of other models, including the Alfa-Jeep compact Alfa SUVs said to be in development.

But is it a long way from a SUV and five-door hatch to a two door coupé? And would an Alfa Giulietta coupé model infringe on Alfa MiTo territory? The answer to both these questions is a possible yes, but with plans to retire the Alfa GT and the Alfa Brera, room could still be found in the line-up for a two-door coupé.

The Giulietta would seem a logical choice, both because it’s a new model and because there is a historical connection between the Giulietta name and two-door coupés. We also think that the Alfa Romeo line-up, with its tradition and style, really needs to have a coupé model, otherwise it’s just not sexy or Italian enough for us. Many Alfa fans would likely agree, but we’re still at just a rendering at this stage.

(See the Giulietta sprint excitement on WCF and Autoblog.com).

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The Fiat-Chrysler merger had first indicated that Fiat products would appear in Chrysler dealerships and that particularly the Fiat 500 would occupy its own small, featured corner on showroom floors. It now appears, though, that Fiat will get its own dealerships in the US, according to CEO Sergio Marchionne himself, and that Fiat will have a strong presence of about 200 stores opening.

We’re a bit skeptical about investing these kinds of resources when there is already a wide network of Chrysler dealerships that could be harnessed. But reports say that current Chrysler dealers will have the first opportunity to purchase new stores, which will be fitted out with service departments, too.

This would indicate that more than just the Fiat 500 will be going stateside as clearly, it would be difficult to build an entire dealership around one compact car. It raises the question, though, as to exactly what models will appear, as previously the new Alfa MiTo and Alfa Giulietta have been denied, and we can’t see that Fiat would be in a rush to take the Punto across the Atlantic. Perhaps the new Alfa SUV…?

Source | Autoblog.com

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The new Alfa Giulietta is already making its first move towards sales success in its home market, after an open weekend in Alfa Romeo Italian dealerships. According to the company in just one weekend, 2,700 people placed an order for the new Giulietta, showing that it’s a new Alfa the Italians have been waiting for. Currently the most orders have been placed for the 1.6-litre JTDm with 105 hp, and the 2.0 JTDm with 170 hp, with white being the preferred colour.

While this kind of news is mostly an exercise in statistics, the snazzy Giulietta marketing campaign with Uma Thurman seems to be paying off, and there have been plenty of visits to the new dedicated Alfa Giulietta website, “Everyday Thrills” (perhaps a few too many slogans, though?). Only 200 Alfa Giulietta models are actually available to be test driven in Italy, making the 2,700 orders a good looking figure in comparison.

Source | Autoblog.it

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The design principles and style behind the new Alfa Giulietta are discussed in this video (in Italian, but you get the picture). From the overall shape of the car to the classic Alfa grille and badge at the front, we get a full tour of the new vehicle.

As designer Lorenzo Ramaciotti says, the Giulietta turns a new page for Alfa and many fans are hoping it will mark a new era at the Italian brand company. While Ramaciotti talks of the design, and there’s no denying this a good looking car, the first Giulietta test drives would indicate that it is also a pleasing car to drive. See the marketing pics with Uma Thurman below, and check out our test drive pics here.

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The new Alfa Giulietta marketing campaign will kick off with Uma Thurman featured in the commercials, and a Shakespeare quote from The Tempest “We are such stuff as dreams are made on”. The Giulietta TV commercial will be launched on May 16 in Italy, before the dealership launch on the local market takes place on May 22nd and 23rd.

The tv commercial was filmed entirely in the US and the campaign featuring Uma Thurman is part of the international marketing project for the Alfa Giulietta. The Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill star will take on five different female roles symbolising the different personalities of the car.

Alfa Romeo Giulietta and Uma Thurman

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Here are live test pics of our Alfa Giulietta test drive, in which our colleagues at Autoblog.it got to drive the new Alfa Romeo hatch over 100 km, between track driving and street driving. While the Alfa MiTo was a much-awaited car and has been an important model for Alfa and its launch into the compact segment, the Giulietta is essential to Alfa for a brand revival, and in terms of building a new, quality vehicle in a competitive segment.

The Giulietta looks better in person than in pictures, and overall the muscular design and the combination of colours and accessories is very pleasing. The front is still quite prominent and if you’re in the market for the Giulietta, you might want to splash out on some bigger wheels as the 16-inch design can get a bit lost (the 18-inch wheels on the Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde are much more attractive), but other than that we’re looking at quite a sexy little hatch.

The thing that gives us most relief about the Giulietta is that it isn’t just constructed around Alfa good looks. The first good impressions of the interior, with a BMW 1 Series style dash, a lovely mix of leather, alcantara and metal finishes, are only confirmed the more you come into contact with this new Alfa Romeo. Let’s face it though, to compete in this segment Alfa’s new C EVO platform had to be good, comfort and safety had to be very good and price had to be appealing. It’s not an easy feat but the Alfa Giulietta seems to pull it off quite well.

Alfa Romeo Giulietta test drive

Continue reading: Alfa Giulietta test drive pics and Giulietta Quadrifoglio track drive

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