Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce will appear at Paris motor show

The Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce will make its debut at the Paris motor show. The hot saloon will be below the Quadrifoglio in the Giulia line-up.

Alfa Romeo revealed details of its new rival for the Audi S4 on its German media website. It has recently introduced the Veloce badge to its Mito supermini, replacing the pre-facelift Quadrifoglio range-topper.

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The Giulia Veloce will be available with either a 276bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, which produces maximum torque of 295lb ft, or a 2.2-litre 207bhp diesel, with 347lb ft. These are both tuned versions of existing engines in the Giulia line-up, and are new to the Alfa Romeo range.

In Germany, where the car has been officially announced, the car is only available with an eight-speed automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive.

Its four-wheel drive nature is the sticking point for selling the car in the UK, according to an Alfa Romeo spokesman. If the car did reach UK showrooms, it would be as an rear-wheel drive model, but Alfa Romeo is still undecided as to whether it will make this happen.

A decision will likely be made early next year, meaning that the Veloce would be a late addition to the Giulia range, instead of being available from the outset. It’ll go on sale in Germany at the same time as the rest of the Giulia line-up.

The Veloce gets spec-exclusive bumpers, as well as the same five-hole alloy wheels as the Giulia Quadrifoglio. A more aggressive rear diffuser incorporates the Giulia Veloce's two exhausts, and it gets tinted rear windows and xenon headlights as standard.

The introduction of the Veloce trim to the Giulia further fuels speculation that a hot Mito Quadrifoglio is in the pipeline, although an Alfa Romeo spokesman said that there are no plans for this on the current Mito.

The next-generation Mito could have such a variant, though.

Given Alfa Romeo’s cohesion across its lineup with spec levels, and the closeness between the Giulia and the Stelvio, it’s very likely that the brand’s first SUV will also get a warmed-up Veloce variant, in addition to the hot Quadrifoglio model. 

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