After hobbling through poor sales and performance in the late 80’s and 90’s Alfa Romeo is back to take on the American Market. Alfa’s return to America has taken some time but you can’t blame them for being cautious.


To start off their revival tour Alfa is introducing two very exciting cars to bring prestige back to the brand. Following up where the 4C started Alfa unveiled the Giulia, which is the three series rival this luxury brand needs to build credibility and generate revenue.

No three series competitor would be complete without a high performance trim to challenge the M3. The Giulia Quadrifoglio is a Ferrari power Italian piece of art promises to take the fight to Germany’s M3 and usher in the return of exciting Italian sedans.


Alfa guarantees that this car will not only compete with the M3 but dominate it on all fronts. The high performance Giulia Quadrifoglio benefits from a Ferrari derived twin turbo V6, active aero dynamics, and a torque vectoring rear diff. With the long standing success of the M3 it will come as no surprise that this is not the first time a Ferrari powered sedan went toe to toe with the M3.

If we turn the clock back to the 1980’s Lancia built the Ferrari powered Thema 8.32. This sedan was powered by the same 2.9 liter Ferrari V8 engine found in the Ferrari 328 producing 210-horse power at 8,000 rpm. The Lancia Thema and Giulia Quadrifoglio have a lot more in common than one may think. Both feature active aero to enhance handling, and both have Ferrari engines that displace 2.9 liters. This may be coincidental but the new Italian M3 fighter may have some heritage that most Americans are unfamiliar with.


The Thema 8.32 was never officially sold in America so it isn’t well known in this part of the world. As you can see in this very 80’s video below the Thema 8.32 drew heavily upon Lancia’s racing heritage and the brand cache that a Ferrari engine provides.



As Alfa Romeo slowly wades back into the American market we can expect more affordable Italian cars they may find their way into a driveway near you. Until then enjoy the Alfa Romeo commercial below, lucky for us the Italians have not changed a bit.