After leaks of Alfa Romeo’s new compact saloon appeared on the web the company moved quickly to stop a flood of leaks by releasing an official press release detailing the new Giulia. The Giulia is the replacement for the 159 which ceased production in 2011. Alfa saloons don’t sell very well and depreciate in value like a stone sinking in a river. The Giulia isn’t really a replacement for the 159 its a throwback to 2004, back then Alfa released the 157. The 157 shares a familiar story to Alfa’s current predicament, in 2004 Alfa wanted to re-enter the American market and the 157 was crucial if Alfa were to become a viable brand able to compete with the BMW 3 Series in what was then the worlds most lucrative sales territory. Step forward nearly 11 years and its the same story although Alfa’s situation is probably slightly worse falling sales, no presence in America and dwindling cash reserves. Its a miracle the Guilia has even got this far. Then as now Alfa is preserved in a perpetual struggle to regain a sales momentum. The sales momentum has never happened. The Giulia seems to be saying the right things. Its (thank the lord) rear wheel drive with the option of a four wheel drive setup. Alfa say its made use of ultra light materials to give an “exceptional” power to weight distribution in addition to a 50/50 weight distribution split. The high performance Quadrifoglio version uses an all aluminium V6 turbo engine which features electronically-controlled cylinder deactivation technology for increased fuel efficiency. Tuned by Ferrari, it delivers 510bhp and propels the Alfa to 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds. The Giulia makes use of Ferrari’s race and road car experience and introduces Torque Vectoring, Integrated Brake System and an Active Aero Splitter. The suspension will use “Alfalink” its a name made up by the marketing team of course but what it features is a rear multilink and front double-wishbone suspension setup. This will be complimented by electronically controlled dampers. Alfa’s DNA driver mode system will also be included but we’ve always seen these as driver assists, a kind of engine power management system. Alfa have released no other details than these headline grabbing snippets which means they were caught off guard by the recent series of interweb leaks. We’ll know more about the models, trim levels and price in due course. Like the 157 before it the Giulia comes at yet another crucial moment for the survival and revival of Alfa Romeo. You can bet in 10 years time the process will be repeated yet again, that is if Alfa or indeed Alfa’s mothership, Fiat, is still around.