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Alfa Romeo Giulia sedan debuts with 510 hp, killer curves [w/video]

After a very blurry, accidental photo debut just yesterday, Alfa Romeo let loose the first official images and information about the upcoming Giulia. And she's a looker. We've got a man on the ground in Milan for the reveal who'll be bringing us more about the Giulia later on, but in the meantime let's take a look at the facts. Alfa's rakish new sedan certainly offers enough performance to justify the fast-standing-still styling. The Giulia seen here is the top-of-the-line Quadrifoglio edition, which has a turbocharged V6 that produces 510 horsepower (likely a metric figure, so it might be rated 503 here) and is good for a trip to 62 miles per hour in just 3.9 seconds. The car will also come in lower-power specs, likely using variations of a turbocharged four-cylinder. That quick acceleration is at least partially down to a very impressive curb weight. Alfa hasn't given us an official figure, per se, but does mention that the Giulia has a weight-to-power ratio "lower than 3kg/hp." Doing the math, that would put the sedan under 3,400 pounds, which is impressive. For reference, a BMW M3 sedan makes 425 hp and weighs in at around 3,600 pounds, while a 464-hp Cadillac ATS-V weighs about 100 pounds more. We know from Alfa's US-spec 4C that the sedan might gain a bit of heft in its cross-Atlantic translation, but if it's even in that ballpark, we'll be excited. Handling should be excellent, too, at least as far as we can tell from the case made on paper. The company boasts a 50/50 front/rear weight distribution, with a multi-link rear suspension and double wishbones up front. We're also promised "rapid, accurate steering" which, again, is borne out by the 4C. The Giulia Quadrifoglio features a torque-vectoring rear differential, an active front splitter to improve aerodynamics at high speeds, and a computer system called Chassis Domain Control to keep the various subsystems balanced. Touted as a competitor to the BMW 3 Series (an M3 competitor in this spec), the Giulia will be available as a rear-wheel-drive vehicle as standard, of course. But an optional all-wheel-drive setup is also in the cards. You'll have to decide for yourself if the flowing, long-hood-short-deck styling works, but we think it's excellent (at least based on the first few images). Find a bit more detail about the upcoming Giulia in the press release below, and expect more from Milan shortly.

Stellantis tells UK: Change Brexit deal or watch car plants close

LONDON - British car plants will close with the loss of thousands of jobs unless the Brexit deal is swiftly renegotiated, Stellantis has told the UK parliament, the latest in a series of warnings from the industry since the country left the European Union. The world's No. 3 carmaker by sales and owner of 14 brands including Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat said that under the current deal it would face tariffs when exporting electric vans to Europe from next year, when tougher post-Brexit rules come into force. "If the cost of EV (electric vehicle) manufacturing in the UK becomes uncompetitive and unsustainable, operations will close," Stellantis said in a submission to a House of Commons committee examining the prospects for Britain's EV industry. Stellantis urged the government to reach an agreement with the European Union about extending the current rules on the sourcing of parts until 2027 instead of the planned 2024 change. In response, a government spokesperson said the business secretary had raised the issue with the EU. "Watch this space, because we are very focused on making sure that the UK gets EV and manufacturing capacity," Britain's finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Wednesday at a British Chambers of Commerce event. The potentially existential problem facing Britain's car industry is closely tied to the shift to EVs. Under the trade deal agreed when Britain left the bloc, 45% of the value of an EV being sold in the European Union must come from Britain or the EU from 2024 to avoid tariffs. The problem is that a battery pack can account for up to half a new EV's cost. Batteries are also heavy and expensive to move long distances. Experts have been warning since Britain left the EU at the end of 2020 that the country would need a number of EV battery gigafactories or potentially lose a hefty chunk of its car industry. Only Japan's Nissan has a small EV battery plant in Sunderland, with a second one on the way. Cost of failure Britishvolt, a startup which received UK government support for an ambitious 3.8 billion pound ($4.80 billion) battery plant at a site in northern England, filed for administration in January after struggling to raise funds. The company was then bought by Australia's Recharge Industries, which has yet to unveil plans for the site.

Alfa Romeo to offer 4C buyers choice of headlights [w/poll]

Typically an automobile will lose some of its more radical design elements on the road from concept to production, but Alfa Romeo has done things a little differently with the 4C... at least, that is, when it came to its headlights. When the sports car concept first debuted at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, it had an intriguing, glowing headlight design that seemed more stylish than functional. The headlight design stayed the same when Alfa repainted the concept from matte red to liquid silver for the Frankfurt Motor Show later that year, but when the 4C debuted in production form two years after concept's first showing, its headlights weren't any less strange. If anything, they were even more so, taking on a form that only a fly's optometrist could love. Things took a more conventional (and eye-pleasing) turn earlier this month when Alfa revealed the 4C Spider concept with not only a different roofline but also a new set of headlights. Those units are expected to make their way to production when the 4C Spider is finalized, but word has it that the roadster won't be the only one to get them. According to Autocar, the Italian automaker will offer new buyers of the 4C coupe the option to fit the Spider's headlamps instead of the strange-looking units on the hardtop model. The Spider, meanwhile, will only get the more conventional units. We've reached out to Alfa Romeo for confirmation, and have yet to hear back as we go to publish, but either way, the 4C remains – for the time being – a piece of forbidden fruit that we only wish we could get in the States as Alfa continues to plot its eventual return to the North American market. Featured Gallery Alfa Romeo 4C Spider Design Preview Related Gallery 2014 Alfa Romeo 4C View 60 Photos News Source: Autocar Alfa Romeo Convertible Coupe Performance alfa romeo 4c alfa 4c alfa romeo 4c spider