The yet-unnamed model will be aimed squarely at the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the BMW 5 Series. It will ride on an evolution of the rear-wheel drive platform that underpins the Giulia, and it will earn the honor of being the first-ever plug-in hybrid Alfa. Details about the drivetrain aren’t available yet, though it should be similar to the plug-in setup that’s making its way to the Maserati Levante.
Buyers who aren’t ready to embrace electrification will have plenty of other options to choose from. Globally, the lineup will include a 2.0-liter, gasoline-burning four-cylinder borrowed from the Giulia (pictured), a 2.2-liter turbodiesel four, a 2.9-liter V6, and even a six-cylinder diesel. A range-topping Quadrifoglio-badged model will fight for the same turf as the E63 and the M5. On paper, it sounds like Alfa is finally getting serious about taking on the Germans.
The offensive includes tech, as well. Alfa isn’t planning to go after the 7 series and the S-Class, so the 5-sized model will be its biggest, most luxurious, and most advanced sedan. Notably, it will benefit from the semi-autonomous traffic jam assist technology that Alfa is in the early stages of developing. The feature will be offered as an extra-cost option on most trim levels.
The 5 Series-fighting sedan is only a small part of Alfa’s ambitious expansion plan.
“We owe our investors a constant stream of new, fresh global products that can be sold. It will be a relatively fast sequence of relevant and saleable products like saloons and SUVs,” revealed Harald Wester, Alfa parent company Fiat-Chrysler’s chief technology officer, in an interview with British magazine Auto Express.
Read more: Alfa Romeo updates the Giulietta one last time … and we’re still not getting it in the U.S.
Alfa’s next new model is a crossover called Stelvio that will be roughly the size of a X3. Soon after, the company will replace both the MiTo and the Giulietta compacts with a brand new model that’s likely to shift to rear-wheel drive. A coupe, a convertible, and a bigger crossover will arrive before the end of the decade.
