These days coupes have the power of supercars from not that long ago and the Alfa Romeo Giulia coupe is looking to up the bar, according to an Autocar report.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia coupe will come with two new powertrains currently under development, so says the automotive publication’s sources, one of which will use the 2.9-litre V6 twin-turbo in the Giulia Quadrifoglio tuned to 641bhp. Six hundred and fourty one – take that, Audi, BMW and Mercedes.
Not only would that make it immensely powerful, the Giulia coupe – said to be known as the ‘Sprint’ internally (but GTV would make more sense) – is also allegedly going to make use of a Formula 1 hybrid energy recovery system (ERS) system. This would help improve performance and reduce emissions by turning wasted energy into battery power that is then fed into an electric motor.
Given Alfa and Ferrari’s overlap, seeing a form of the HY-KERS system in the LaFerrari hypercar may not be a huge stretch. If true, that would actually mean a system more advanced than what you find in an Formula 1 car.
Second of the two new powertrains is said to be the 2.0-litre found in the Giulia Veloce, upped to a healthy 345bhp and boosted by the same or a similar ERS system.
To accommodate as many budgets as possible, use of the other Giulia engines is more than likely. That would mean the 2.0-litre tuned with either 197 or 276bhp and the 503bhp 2.9-litre sans ERS. Though it pains us to say, a 148bhp diesel may also be offered for the motorway-inclined.
Looks-wise, it is safe to expect longer doors to make clambering in the back easier (as seen on previous Alfa GT models), which would smooth the side profile. It is also safe to assume the rear roof line, front and rear-quarter panels will also be revised to make it stand out alongside the existing Giulia. There could also be a five-door hatchback version for added versatility.
Just to give an idea of where the Alfa Romeo Giulia coupe would sit, possible rivals include the 444bhp Audi RS5, 493bhp BMW M4 DTM and the 503bhp Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe.
If the sources are correct, we will be seeing the car before 2018 is out and available to buy it in 2019.
With the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio the best sporty saloon money can buy in terms of excitement (by a country mile), the sound of a sleeker coupe with more power would be the dream. But more than that, it would help give the Italian manufacturer an advantage over its rivals that it has lacked for decades.
Would it add to the reliability woes, though? It has not exactly been plain sailing for KERS systems in F1 and the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio has had its fair share of teething problems so maybe.
Nonetheless, if the coupe version drives at least as well we would be willing to take the risk. Every day of the week.
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