Alfa Romeo aims high with 2017 Giulia Quadrifoglio

2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio unveiled in Los Angeles (Photo: Nadine Filion/Autofocus.ca)

Alfa Romeo took full advantage of this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show to give the world a first look at and plenty of details about the brand new 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio.

The new model delivers a new level of performance for the Italian car brand. Under the hood the Giulia gets a Ferrari-developed 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 engine making 505 horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque. To date, this is Alfa Romeo’s most powerful engine ever offered, allowing sprint times from 0-60mph (96 km/hr) of just 3.8 seconds.

A full range of Giulias will follow the Quadrifoglio – likely a 2.0L turbo four-cylinder with 276 horsepower, and eventually an all-wheel drive version.

Parent company Fiat-Chrysler (FCA) has high hopes for the Alfa brand, aiming to sell some 400,000 units worldwide within the next three years. Whether the Giulia can propel Alfa to those lofty heights remains to be seen.

The Giulia will take on heavyweights such as the BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C63. All Giulias will be made in Italy, in the southern city of Cassino. Pricing starts at US$70,000 and Canadian Alfa dealers are expected to offer cars for sale in the second half of 2016.