New Cars for 2016: Alfa Romeo

Giulia (shown above): The second phase of Alfa Romeo’s reentry into the American market touches down in the make/break sports-sedan category, most recently assaulted by Jaguar with the XE. A V-6 and rear-drive are Alfa’s primary weapons, though we expect a four-cylinder model, and Alfa, cognizant of Snowbelt sales, will also offer four-wheel drive. The company claims a 3.9-second zero-to-62-mph time for the hottest version, a 510-hp Quadrifoglio with a twin-turbo V-6. It’s a machine explicitly built to take the fight to the BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63, the segment’s perennial performance titans. While Alfa hasn’t announced an official weight, reading between the press-release lines suggests a target of 3300 pounds. Given the Italian tendency to use something akin to lunar gravity while weighing automobiles, we’d expect it to arrive between 3500 and 3600 pounds wet. The relatively svelte Cadillac ATS bulks up to 3800 pounds in its V guise, so the Alfa’s mass should still be competitive. See official photos and info ››

If not quite the aesthetic knockout that its predecessor, the 159, was, at least the Giulia is an attractive machine. Attractive and Italian are good enough for more than a few first-year sales, but to reestablish an American foothold for the brand, the Giulia will have to offer not just an alternative to the Teutonic troika of Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW, but a compelling car in its own right, with legs to stand on once the press runs out of “Me and Giulia Down by the Schoolyard” headlines.