MILAN, Italy — With Andrea Bocelli singing Turandot, Alfa Romeo ushered in what Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne called a “rebirth” of a brand that has seen more than its fair share of ups and downs.
In all my years, I have never witnessed a more emotional car launch — they spoke not about metal, carbon-firbre and a twin-turbocharged V6 engine, but of love and the emotion of the people deep down in what Alfa Romeo calls its “Skunk Works” group.
First Drive: 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C Spider
The Skunk Works designation refers to Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs, whose engineers were given 150 days to design and develop a new product. Those involved came in seven days ahead of schedule and with the XP-80 Shooting Star, the first U.S. Airforce jet fighter.
As it was with those folks, so it was with the team at Alfa Romeo. Build it, build it right and set a new benchmark for the segment. The numbers say it all — 510 horsepower, a full-on torque-vectoring system with two clutch packs and a run from rest to 100 kilometres an hour in 3.9 seconds.
Of course, the fact it is like living poetry to look at only serves to underscore its outright potential. The Alfa Romeo Giulia is set to tackle the Audi S6 along with the higher-end BMW 5 Series and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
