In many ways, the Giulietta can be seen as a physical embodiment of the turbulent period that Alfa Romeo has endured over the last five years. Since work began in 2005, 'Project 940' (as it was known internally) has undergone two changes of name - from 149 to Milano to Giulietta - a change of management and a last minute, inside-out redesign.
The full-scale model presented to newly appointed CEO Sergio Marchionne in the summer of 2007 was a true child of the old Alfa Romeo design era. Its exterior was designed partly by outside suppliers, and partly by the Centro Stile studio in Milan (which later moved to Turin, hence the decision to drop the Milano name), and essentially looked like a larger, more modern version of the 147. Its typically driver-focused interior, meanwhile, was developed from an original proposal by Stile Bertone that prioritized driver appeal over practicality.
The newly installed CEO wasn't impressed, and sent the designers back to the drawing board. Working with the same volumes - the Giulietta is 128mm longer, 23mm taller and 69mm wider than the car it replaces, and rides on an 88mm longer wheelbase - the Centro Stile team was given a very different design brief: create a five-door hatchback that looks compact and sporty on the outside, but provides true family car versatility inside.
The exterior design was managed by Alfa Romeo's Chief Exterior Designer Antonio Rosti. Project Chief Exterior Designer Alessandro Maccolini headed up the team, which comprised Senior Designer Davide Airoldi, Exterior Project Manager Giovanni Pillonca, and Graphic Designer Davide Crepaldi, who also headed up that aspect of the interior design. The sketching phase began that summer and a single proposal was put forward for development in full scale. As with the MiTo - which was actually started after Giulietta, but was pushed into production first - the 8C Competizione was a major source of inspiration. "On Mito we have a lot of small elements from the 8C, which is an icon car for us, but applied in different volumes. For Giulietta it was important not to go in exactly the same direction, to establish some kind of evolution," Maccolini told CDN.
The strong V-shape in the hood is an obvious nod to the company's halo model, and the front-end graphic builds on that of both the 8C and its smaller stablemate. "We decided to maintain this longitudinal geometry from the 8C, partly because it gives us greater freedom in terms of pedestrian impact," explains Maccolini. "However the light is different - more sophisticated. The rear is also a good example of how we have evolved since 8C. On Mito you see exactly the same kind of round light, but here we have this strange mix between the horizontal and longitudinal. Of course at the back you are more free; with the front it can be very hard to find a compromise between style and technical solutions."
Aside from differentiation from both the 147 and the company's entry-level hatchback, the major priority with Giulietta was to create a coupe-style profile. "This car only comes in a five-door version, so it was important to emphasize a coupe feeling. If you look at the lines, the tumblehome, you can see it's not like the 147 five-door, which was more square," says the Italian designer. Much of this feeling, he says, is generated by the design of the greenhouse: "The rear screen is really aggressively angled, like a coupe's, and all models have this spoiler at the back. The C-pillar is also very strong, with this section creating a very three-dimensional effect."
One of the car's most distinctive design elements is a bone line that runs between the front and rear lamps, but which melts away into the body either side of the trademark Alfa door handle - as is traditional, the ones for the rear doors are hidden in the C-pillars. The surface treatment in the body sides is also noticeably more complex than on any of the company's recent designs: "Here in the side, you can see something like on 156 but with a new treatment: different sections - positive and negative, concave and convex," says Maccolini.
Considering how rushed the new development phase was - the design was frozen in December, just a few months after sketching began - the Giulietta does a very convincing job of hiding its family car origins. "When you have to do something in just a few months you know the car is going in the right direction," points out Maccolini. "When you have a lot of time maybe you lose your way..."
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