Alfa Romeo had recently announced a new all-wheel drive semi-performance version of their Giulia sedan that would sit below the 375kW Quadrifoglio Verde (QV) called the Veloce. Now the Italian marque is rolling out that name as a new variant to the Giulietta hatch as well.
The 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulietta is due to make its Australian debut in October and will be tiered between the base Super, the mid-range Super TCT, and topped off with the Veloce. The updated car has been given some new styling elements to more closely resemble the Giulia sedan and tighten the overall aesthetic across all their cars.
The changes are mostly focused toward the front end of the new Giulietta, arriving in the form of a revised front end that includes a new honeycomb grille, piano black bumper inserts (with or without red accents) and a redesigned headlamp cluster and fog lamp surrounds.
When it does arrive in a month’s time, the 2017 Giulietta range will start at $29,900 for the Super variant, which is powered by a 1.4-litre MultiAir turbocharged four-cylinder engine that outputs 110kW and 250Nm that’s able to propel it to 100km/h from rest in a respectable 8.2 seconds while claiming to sip as little as 5.5-litres/100km.
Standard features include 16-inch alloy wheels, dual zone climate control, rear parking sensors, Alfa’s DNA drive selector, leather-wrapped steering wheel, LED daytime running lights and FCA’s UConnect 5-inch touchscreen infotainment system.
Interestingly, the Giulietta Super will only be available with a six-speed manual transmission. To gain an automatic, the Super TCT will be the entry point, which is $5,000 more expensive at $34,900. It’s powered by the same 1.4-litre turbo-petrol but tuned to produce 125kW and 250Nm, a gain of 15kW over the base Super.
In addition to the addition of a six-speed twin-clutch automatic transmission, the Super TCT comes with larger 17-inch alloys, front and rear parking sensors, leather-wrapped shift knob, and a larger 6.5-inch infotainment screen. Alfa Romeo say that the quick-shifting transmission is able to bring that average fuel consumption down to as low as 4.9-litres/100km while reducing that 100km/h sprint time to 7.7 seconds.
Finally, there’s the Giulietta Veloce, the new range-topping variant in the car’s 2017 iteration. The engine grows to a 1.75-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol (the same that powers the 4C sports car and the previous Giulietta QV).
In the new Veloce, it produces 177kW and 340Nm and paired to the six-speed TCT automatic, needing just 6.0-seconds to dispatch 100km/h from rest and on to a top speed of 244km/h while keeping fuel consumption a decent 6.8-litres/100km.
The Giulietta Veloce comes with all the luxuries too for its $41,900 price tag. These include 18-inch wheels, sports tuned suspension, Bi-Xenon headlamps, rear diffuser, twin tailpipes, and Brembo brakes with red callipers. Inside, its seats are shod in leather and Alcantara, there’s a flat-bottomed steering wheel, aluminium pedals, and even launch control.
For more on Alfa Romeo vehicles, including pricing and specifications, check out our Showroom.
