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REVEAL: 24 JUNE 2015

Date of new Alfa Romeo announced by Marchionne



Sergio Marchionne – the man who scared entire Italy when he waved Luca Cordero di Montezemolo goodbye a few days ago – has stated a date on which we can expect to see the new Alfa Romeo. And a very symbolic one at that; June 24th 2015. Yes indeed, the exact date on which the brand from Portello (and later on Arese) is to turn 105 years old. We don’t know what baffles us most; Di Montezemolo leaving Ferrari or the new Alfa being announced for halfway through 2015 already.



‘Already?’ we hear you thinking with astonishment. Of course it is long overdue, but we’re amazed that this new important Alfa should be ready by as early as June already given it is still in a very early stage of development at this moment. The first testing phase of ‘Progetto 952’ has only just been spotted, while preparations for the production in Cassino can’t have started earlier than a few weeks back. This means they’ll have their work cut out if they plan to respect this schedule. We expect that the model presented next summer will only be a concept (though a close-to-production-ready one), while the assembly line should be ready by the end of 2015.



Another way to look at it is that Marchionne had no other option than to release a date sooner or later. Even though the man loathes the announcing of exact dates, he practically had no other choice this time. Last year at a press conference he even stated that those wanting to know the date should take a look at the inside of his thigh, as that’s where the exact date was tattooed. But the big boss no longer gets away with such kinds of jokes this time around, as analysts need to start believing in the investment plan for Alfa Romeo, especially considering the IPO on Wall Street is right around the corner. A few years ago Marchionne said that they were working on Alfa Romeo at the speed of light and that 2015 was the year when we could expect the first tangible results. Seems like he wasn’t lying.

Shortened Ghibli recognizable as Alfa Romeo ‘Progetto 952’



The shortened Ghibli has again been spotted and now clearly proves this project has nothing to do with Maserati, but instead with the development of a new Alfa Romeo which was christened ‘Giulia’ by the media a long time ago already. What its actual name will be is just as secret as its design, but at least we now know for a fact that this is an Alfa Romeo in progress.




Progetto 952 is the name for the new D-segment Alfa with rear-wheel drive. The interior gives away its codename, while we also spot a skillfully built temporary center console. The 900-indication sounds like music to every Alfist’s ears as it indicates a new era in the glorious history of ‘il Biscione’. The Giulia’s predecessor – the 159 – was codenamed 939 and the Giulietta wore the number 940. A successor to the 159 was at first scheduled before the Chrysler-takeover (Progetto 944) but died an early death due to tactical reasons. The same counts for the development of a new flagship (Progetto 941).



The air vents inside the interior are exactly the same as those found in the Ghibli (though they’re positioned to the side of the car in the Maser rather than in the middle), while we notice a steering wheel that seems to be derived from the one in the Jeep Cherokee. The cover is the only thing that’s borrowed from the American D-segment SUV on Fiat’s CUSW-platform. Below the center console we spot Alfa’s DNA ‘manettino’. The front of the car shows us an entirely different air intake than the one on the Maserati, while dots on the bodywork around the grille seem to indicate the shape of a ‘Scudetto’. No doubt then that this is the D-segment Alfa Romeo and it seems to us that Fiat is not exactly trying to hide that fact from the world.



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