1991 Alfa Romeo 164 S Sport Sedan 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Ralph Gilles talks minivans, Millennials, mobility, and kissing Alfa Romeos

We sat down with Ralph Gilles, the global head of design for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show. The veteran stylist has worked for the company for 25 years, and oversees the design of all of the products in the FCA portfolio – everything from mobility pods to Maseratis. This serves Gilles just fine, as his personal automotive interests are exceedingly diverse. The FCA stand was unusually quiet (until Vice President Joe Biden stopped by at the end of our time there) and Gilles was willing to weigh in on a wide range of subjects. Autoblog: We're seeing all of these autonomous mobility pods like Portal being presented at auto shows like CES or NAIAS, but we're not seeing any adoption of this kind of small vehicle in the market. What's your perspective on our pod-like autonomous future versus our truck-centric present? Ralph Gilles: Obviously I pay attention to the industry as much as your readers and yourself, and everyone has a take on the future. We had a debate, we could have done a supercar or something for pure sex appeal [ apparently that's also in the works], but we chose something practical, to really look at the future in a different perspective. We have these Millennials, a huge swath of people born between 1982 and 2004, and the oldest ones are turning 35 right about now, and a lot of them are having families later in life but when they have them they have a little more buying power, so it makes for an interesting cocktail. The one stipulation we had on the Portal project was that everyone had to be a Millennial to be on the team. So that excluded me, I had more of a coach role on the team. And to your point, the Portal in its current state as you see it is not going to be on the road tomorrow. But there's a lot of ideas, a lot of connectivity ideas, a lot of styling ideas, even lighting and technologies that will absolutely find their way into vehicles in the next few years. AB: Being a Detroiter, all of this attention we've had recently in Vegas, CES – I heard that they're maybe going to be running the show at the same time next year. Do you feel a little protective of the Detroit Show? RG: Yeah, it's something to watch. I hope it's not an aggressive thing on their part, by moving the shows on top of each other. They're both important shows. CES, I've been going to for the last five years, and it's changing. There's a lot more automotive content, but there are a lot more start-ups too, and it's interesting to watch.

It's finally here! | 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia First Drive

There's been an Alfa Romeo Giulia-shaped hole waiting to be filled in the American car market for what feels like forever. A couple years ago, Alfa rejoined the US car party with the flawed but hugely entertaining 4C, reigniting passions after a decades-long absence but leading to little in the way of sales volume. That single offering acted only as a tease for those wanting a properly practical, five-person sports sedan. After a true-to-Italy leisurely wait, the Giulia has arrived. The 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia puts some practical meat on the bone for American drivers bored of the usual Audi A4/Mercedes C-Class/BMW 3 Series suspects. Even better, the new Italian-made sedan comes packed with some heavy artillery, the top Quadrifoglio model offering 505 horsepower and returning a 3.8-second 0–60 mph run as well as a shockingly quick Nurburgring Nordschleife time of 7:32 – which, for the record, makes it the fastest four-passenger production car around the 12.9-mile circuit. For context, that's six seconds quicker than a Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera, and a full 20 seconds faster than a BMW M4. Our first taste of the highly anticipated Giulia brought us to Sonoma Raceway and some local roads nearby in California's wine country. As we approach the pack of cars warming in pit lane, there is further evidence that the Giulia Quadrifoglio is serious: its Ferrari-derived 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 sounds snarly and sweet, and cars passing on track report raspy exhaust coughs between shifts. When you go to get in, there's a slight chance of bumping your head on the low-slung roof – wouldn't be an Italian car without an ergonomic quirk, right? The test car appears to be equipped with a full gamut of options: leather across the dash, carbon-fiber trim breaking up the bovine bits, an Alcantara- and leather-covered steering wheel, and the standard eight-speed automatic (the only transmission option for US-market Giulias). This is a distinctly Italian execution, with unique details like green and white top-stitching. But there are also splashes of conventional design throughout, including the analog tach and speedo with a multifunction screen positioned between them, and a steering wheel flanked by tall aluminum shift paddles that are attached to the column and remain stationary.

Alfa Romeo Giulia to get Ferrari-related engine

Alfa Romeo has a long, proud history of using V6 engines in its coupes, sedans, and sports cars over the years, but as the new Giulia sedan approaches, the Italian marque is allegedly turning to Ferrari for its next six-cylinder. This is obviously not the first time a Ferrari-sourced or derived engine has been found under an Alfa's long hood. While 8C Competizione famously used a version of Ferrari's F136 V8 during its short run, the Giulia's new V6 will be offered on a much larger scale, slotting in above an entry level, four-cylinder turbo (likely the next-gen version of the 4C sports car's 1.75-liter engine). According to Autocar, the new V6 will be "specially developed for Alfa Romeo," and will be built at the Termoli engine factory alongside the new turbo four-cylinder. As for the rest of the Giulia, Autocar has been able to shine a light on a number of other details about the new midsizer. It will, thankfully, be rear-wheel drive, and designed to counter the "mostly cold and clinical" and soulless cars of the German competition, Maserati chief Harald Wester told AC. Some of the new sedan's structural elements will even be shared with Maserati's entry level model, the Ghibli. Most notable of all, though, is what the Giulia means for American consumers. After the limited-run 8C and the niche 4C, the new sedan will lead Alfa Romeo's long-awaited, large-scale return, where it will combat the popular BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Audi A4, not to mention rivals like the Cadillac ATS and Lexus IS. Look for more on the Giulia next week when it's officially revealed in Milan.