Now that the Giulia and its SUV sister, the Stelvio, have had enough time out in the open to dig their heels into the buyer population, Alfa Romeo can take an eye off their newest two models and look toward their next car. It’s been widely speculated that a sexier two-door coupe version of Giulia sedan is next in line for a wide launch, but now there’s a little more meat to go with those potatoes.
Not only will a Giulia coupe very like debut within the next few months, at least in its pre-production form, but a report by Autocar posits that the Italian automaker is also due to present their electrification strategy in tandem by announcing its debut alongside a larger SUV model as early as next month.
Both will benefit from the hybrid boost system, a first for Alfa Romeo, for performance and fuel efficiency. With this still mysterious SUV that’s likely to see market introduction in late 2019, and which will likely face off against the Volvo XC90 and BMW X5, the electric aid will come via a 48V architecture of the kind presently used in the many of its would-be rivals and paired with a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol for a combined output hover around 200kW.
It would certainly could use all thrust Alfa can throw at it as the new model is predicted to weigh in at 200kg or more than the Stelvio, especially if its offered with a 7-seater option. Volvo, for its largest SUV, is able to extract as much as 304kW from its T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid, and Alfa Romeo is sure to use that as a benchmark given the seemingly similar powertrain recipe.
Meanwhile, more light has been shed on the Giulia coupe that’s set to compete against the likes of the Audi A5 Coupe and BMW 4 Series. With talk surrounding it being named the Alfa Romeo Sprint, this sporty new model is purported to be offered as both a 2-door and a 5-door coupe similar to the A5 Sportback and 4 Series Gran Coupe.
Regardless, it will be the first car to house Alfa Romeo’s more advanced hybrid powerplant. Developed with Magneti Marelli, the system is said to be similar in execution to the HY-KERS that aids the 6.5-litre V12 in the LaFerrari hypercar and indeed be a continuation of the engineering established there.
While the coupe will be available with a range of turbocharged petrol combustion up front, each paired with the aforesaid hybrid system, the most interesting of them without a doubt is its combination with the 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 from the Giulia Quadrifoglio. On its own, the engine produces over 373kW, but with the electric boost it could exceed 640 horsepower (or 477kW), easily making it the most powerful road car Alfa Romeo to date.
Despite being inherently capable of enhancing performance, and quite dramatically so, the work done by Alfa alongside Ferrari and Magneti Marelli to advance the HY-KERS system leans more toward improving efficiencies.
As such, it will likely be the case that these will be the most powerful and accelerative Alfa Romeos ever made, but also the most technically advanced and fuel efficient, be it an executive sedan, sports coupe, or SUV.
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