Alfa updates Giulia, Stelvio

Less choice and admission prices rise, but tech also improves

 ALFISITI considering a Giulia sedan and Stelvio sports utility will be less stressed about decision-making from now on, with arrival of a mid-life facelift allowing the distributor to slim down each model line.

The lines now each present with just two choices of engine, both petrols, a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder making 206kW and 400Nm and a 2.9-litre V6, with two turbos, that creates 375kW/600Nm.

Common derivative names also span the two families; so the base car in each is now a Veloce Carbon, while the flagships continue with the Quadrifoglio nameplate.

With the previous $69,990 Giulia Super and $79,990 Veloce having been dropped, the entry ticket to Giulia driving starts at $89,990. In Stelvio, the Diesel ($77,990), Petrol ($74,990), and Ti ($94,990) have all been removed from consideration. So the least expensive model is now a $99,990 choice.

The Quadrifoglio Giulia holds the same $139,990 sticker as it predecessor while the Stelvio flagship costs $5000 more.

Both cars have modest exterior styling revisions and the biggest common point of difference in their cabins is a new infotainment interface paired to an 8.8-inch touchscreen.

 Giulia picks up lane keep assist, blind spot assist, autonomous emergency braking and radar cruise control.

Ute outlook Pt 3: The big Blue

Our national obsession for utilities, especially family-minded dual-cabs, knows no bounds. The market is booming at the moment, and filled with plenty of strong options. Yet surely you’re also keen to know something about what’s coming up next, when and from whom? Here’s the final section of our three-part analysis.

will there be a new Raptor? It’s still unknown.

My, how the motoring world goes around.

Back in 2011 when Ford Australia unveiled the T6 Ranger ute that it had designed and engineered all by itself, it flew journalists to some God-forsaken place in South Australia’s Flinders Range for the big reveal.

In among the Rangers at the launch event was a Volkswagen Amarok. The Ford people explained that the VW was there because during the Ranger’s development they had benchmarked their new ute against it.

High praise indeed for the Argentine-built ute produced by Germany’s Volkswagen Group. And the benchmarking worked, too – Ranger immediately became one of the world’s most popular one-tonne utes.

In New Zealand it is the topselling ute, consistently edging out its arch-rival Toyota Hilux. In fact it is the top selling new vehicle full-stop – last year there were 9485 of them registered, well ahead of Hilux’ 7126 sales and way ahead of the most popular passenger vehicle, the Toyota Corolla with its 6804 sales.

And Amarok? The hard truth is that the Volkswagen has struggled. It account for just 1 per cent of the Kiwi commercial market last year, with 653 sales. And that figure was less than 1 per cent of the Amarok’s global sales of 72,500 last year, which in itself was very modest when compared to the hundreds of thousands of sales recorded annually by the likes of Hilux and Ranger.

Given the very high costs of development of any new-generation vehicle, it made sense then that Volkswagen Group would look to forge an alliance with another manufacturer to share development of the next Amarok.

That’s what has happened. Last year the group signed a contract with Ford Motor Company to develop new light commercial vehicles.

current ranger has been vital for ford nz

In other words, instead of Ford using the Amarok as a benchmark during development of a brand-new T7 Ranger, it is now developing the next-generation Volkswagen ute.

Under the terms of the new alliance, Ford is responsible for creating the two ute models, while Volkswagen Group is responsible for development of both brands’ next-generation vans.

The ute project is being led by Ford’s Australia-based Asia-Pacific Product Development Centre, and it is already well advanced. Unofficial word is that the new Ranger will be launched late next year, and the Amarok slated to arrive in 2022.

Although both companies – Volkswagen particularly – are currently spending a fortune electrifying their future vehicles, this isn’t going to apply to the utes. Instead, Ford is concentrating on developing a range of suitable petrol and diesel engines for Ranger and Amarok.

Media reports out of Australia suggest that instead of being powered by the current 3.2-litre five cylinder diesel, which won’t meet latest emissions regulations, the new Ranger will feature a 3.0-litre single turbocharged Power Stroke diesel V6.

The latest version of this lightweight engine is under the bonnet of the F-150 pick-up in USA, and in that application it offers 186 kilowatts of power and 597 Newton metres of torque.

There’s also talk the Ranger will also get a 2.7-litre twin-turbocharged ‘Nano’ EcoBoost petrol V6 that debuted in 2018 aboard the F-150 in the US, and it develops 242kW and 542kW. But at this stage it seems unlikely this petrol Ranger will become available for New Zealand.

 There’s no word yet as to whether the new Amarok will feature the same powertrains as the Ranger.

Parts 1 and 2 of this series can be found in the news section.

amarok has been a solid performer and the v6 is admired. will it continue?

Giulia GTA a big ask for NZ

For its 110th year, Alfa Romeo hasn’t bothered with a cake. But Kiwis seeking a slice of the hotshot it has cooked up might be chancing it.

KIWI Alfisti keen to secure their favourite brand’s most powerful and most expensive car face an uphill battle.

Created to celebrate Alfa’s 110th anniversary and set to roll off the line from mid-2021, the new flagship Giulia reintroduces the famous GTA badge, first seen on an Alfa Romeo in the 1960s, in two formats – a standard GTA and a more track-honed GTAm.

So, will it come?

While national distributor Ateco declined opportunity to provide direct comment, a spokesperson says it doesn’t seem likely. There’s not only the small matter of anticipated high demand for a small global run – just 500 units – but also that all seem set to be in left-hand-drive.

That doesn’t completely rule out opportunity, of course. And extreme effort might be worthwhile, given this Giulia is unlike any other.

As impressive as it is in its own right, the Quadrifoglio on which the GTA is based is half the car – literally terms of price, with overseas’ reports suggesting the ‘m’ has a sticker roughly double that attached to the $139,990 NZ flagship variant. 

Hard to see how something so small will cost, on home turf, around $20k more than the 8C Competizione supercar, which went out of production in 2010?

Well, performance is in a higher league. The new model uses the same 2.9-litre Ferrari-derived V6 engine as the Quadrifoglio but power has been upped from 375kW to 397kW for a 0-100kmh time of just 3.6 seconds.

An Akrapovic titanium exhaust is also fitted, which is much noisier than on the Quadrifoglio. Along with the extra power, the GTA weighs less and features aerodynamic additions to further improve performance, most obviously on the stripped out version.

If that’s not enough to attract attention, then it will be availed in a series of bespoke liveries inspired by the brand's motorsport heritage.

The firm's Centro Stile design arm has taken inspiration from the original Alfa GTAs that ran hard in the European Touring Car Championship. Liveries include a yellow and red paint scheme that harks back to the 1971 title-winning car.

You can also choose from GTA Red, Trophy White and Montreal Green paint colours, chosen to represent the Italian flag. There’s a dedicated online configurator to view the various possible combinations at https://gta.alfaromeo.com.

 Even though this Giulia looks quite a lot like any other, it isn’t really. There’s a much wider use of carbon fibre than in the standard car. The driveshafts, front wheel arches, a bonnet, front bumper and roof are made out of the lightweight material.

Both cars get a sharper front bumper with a chin spoiler and naked carbon-fibre inserts, plus black centre-locking alloy wheels and black rear wheel arch extensions. The rear bumper is all-new, the huge functional diffuser is hard to miss. Likewise that enormous carbon-fibre boot lid spoiler. The cars have a 50mm wider track (the distance from one wheel across the axle to the other) and thorough suspension changes.

The GTAm also gets a stripped-out interior, so just two carbon-fibre seats, six-point racing seat belts and a roll cage, no door panels or proper door handles. It has as Alcantara suede-like fabric as the GTA, but weighs around 100kg less. 

Buyers will get a tailored race suit, shoes and gloves from Alpinestars and a Bell race helmet, plus a car cover, all included in the cost of the car. The 500 customers also get to attend a driving course at the Alfa Romeo Driving Academy.