1987 Alfa Romeo Spider Quadrifoglio on 2040-cars

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Alfa Romeo Giulia, Stelvio to get special editions, one more refresh

Alfa Romeo has made its plans perfectly clear. It’s going EV, and that means that the Giulia and Stelvio as they exist today with powerful gasoline engines will eventually cease to exist. However, weÂ’re still a few years away from that electric future, so Alfa has a little time to play its current models out with style. We asked senior VP of Alfa Romeo Larry Dominique what we should expect from Giulia and Stelvio in between now and the switch to electric, and he was happy to give us a glimpse at whatÂ’s ahead. “So what weÂ’ve done is develop these buzz models,” Dominique tells us. “The first one is the Estrema, which weÂ’ve already announced and weÂ’re launching it with 2023 production in May. This fall, weÂ’re going to start talking about other things like a Lusso Edition and Competizione Edition and things like that.” WeÂ’ve already heard about the Estrema, but the Lusso Edition and Competizione Edition are both new. The Lusso, if Alfa remains consistent, will likely be a luxury-centered version of the Giulia and Stelvio. ItÂ’s the Competizione that has our attention. Similar to the Estrema, this model sounds like it would be directed toward enthusiasts and feature some performance upgrades. “So weÂ’re going to look at these different components, different parts, QV parts on a Veloce and things like that,” Dominique said. “Unique color combinations and unique colors.” Adding QV (Quadrifoglio) parts to non-Quadrifoglio models is a similarly enticing proposition. We can hope that it comes to pass, because this would result in some rather aggressive-looking Giulias and Stelvios that donÂ’t come with a Quadrifoglio price. Looking into the somewhat more distant future, Dominique says that the current generation Giulia and Stelvio will get one final refresh for the 2024 model year.  “In 2024 model year, weÂ’re going to have a final minor change for Stelvio and Giulia,” Dominique continued. “So youÂ’re going to see some changes visually inside and outside, associated with that. And weÂ’ll continue with the buzz model strategy, even though we have the 2024 change coming at the same time.” If youÂ’re a Giulia or Stelvio fan (as we tend to be), this final refresh car is bound to be a desirable one. Instead of dwindling away without any attention, Alfa is singing its gas-powered Giulia and Stelvio out with a little love before theyÂ’re officially put out to pasture in favor of electric models.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: The next five years

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 24 hours, you've no doubt read about all of the big future product news coming out of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles today. We had individual brand reports from Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Maserati and even Ferrari, but in the interest of simplifying and summarizing, we're going to list out the hard facts once more. Of course, with all of this still off in the future, there's still the possibility that a few changes will be made. But as of what we know right now, here's what's coming, and what's going away.
Chrysler
2014: Refreshed 300/300C, debuting at Los Angeles Auto Show

Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagato briefly teased, could be a coupe

Earlier this month, Alfa Romeo and Zagato teased the upcoming Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagato with a single image of an unbroken LED taillight outlining what looked like a Kamm-back rear end. Zagato recently published a few more teasers to its Instagram page, but someone might have pressed the Send button too soon — the video and images are gone from the source. No matter, because this is the internet. The new shots hint at something that could justify Alfa Romeo boss Jean-Philippe Imparato's assessment that the vehicle will be "very exciting, very selective, and very expensive." The image with the carbon-backed driver's seat contains a new rear window shutline and a crossbar. The redrawn glasshouse leads us to believe this will be a coupe, making the most of that Short Wheelbase designation. Some have called the crossbar a roll cage, but it looks to us like the kind of brace used in some cars that omit their rear seats, like the original Bentley Continental GT Supersports. The engine shot doesn't give anything away except the Quadrifoglio badge. The twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V6 could come with the same 505 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque as the Giulia Quadrifoglio, it could be uprated to the 532 hp and 442 lb-ft of the special edition Giulia GTAm, or, as buyers would hope, it could go beyond that. We'd expect the output to be sent through Alfa's eight-speed automatic transmission to the rear wheels through a limited-slip differential.  Zagato standards like new mesh vents and a vented hood make their appearances elsewhere. The grille gets printed with a stylized version of the red cross and crowned viper in Alfa Romeo's logo between the tri-section headlights that should debut on the facelifted Giulia. In back, a closer shot of the taillights gives away segments between LEDs, so the rear end won't be a continuous clamshell piece like the vintage Giulia TZ and Giulia TZ2. Detail bits like a carbon fiber front splitter and another take on the five-leaf-clover wheels from the Giulia GTA will make for dark and shiny jewelry.  The Giulia TZ debuted in 1963, the Giulia SWB Zagato will be the 50th birthday present to the original. Market launch is rumored to come in March next year, an official debut should come not long before that.