The first time we reported about the Giulia’s engine options, the most potent 2.0-liter engine of the lot came in the form of the GME T4 with 280 PS (276 hp) and 470 Nm (346 lb-ft) of torque. Indeed, it’s the same engine you might find in the Giulia Veloce. Even so, there’s an even hotter Giulia model on the horizon.
Slated to take on the likes of the 2017 Audi S4 quattro, 2017 Mercedes-AMG C43 4Matic, and 2017 BMW 340i xDrive, the peeps over at Alfa Romeo are working on a 350 PS (345 hp) variant of the 2.0-powered Giulia. Coming courtesy of the FCA parts website for the Dutch market, the featured pic shows what’s what: “Vermogen” is power, “350 PK” is the metric horsepower.
Discovered by Squadra Tuning, a tuning shop that took the 2.2-liter diesel-powered Giulia to the extreme with a simple ECU remapping, there’s nothing else the screenshot reveals about the hot Giulia, not even how it will be called. Another question mark is whether the go-faster model will be available with a manual transmission. Oh, and another thing: the most hardcore Giulia fans out there are rooting for a rear-wheel-driven sub-Quadrifoglio model.
But a stick shift and rear-wheel-drive aren’t feasible, chiefly because all direct rivals come as standard with AWD, whereas the 340i xDrive is the only one available with a 6-speed manual. Given the circumstances, I’m betting my two cents on a Giulia whatever-it-will-be-called with an all-wheel-drive layout and the ZF-developed 8-speed automatic transmission we all know and love.
“We are not really intended to spread new facts [on the Giulia]. But this is something we found remarkable,” reads a Facebook post from the Dutch tuning company on the mystery Alfa Romeo Giulia with the 2.0-liter powerplant. “Surfing on the parts site of the Alfa Giulia, we stumbled upon brake discs for the 280 PS model, but also for a Giulia 2.0 TBi with 350 PS.”
UPDATE
An autoevolution reader sent us a document according to which the 350 PS 2.0-liter turbo engine will be available in the Giulia in the U.S., with AWD and an auto. It seems that Alfa Romeo will baptize it the Giulia Veloce.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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